


Thin Ice

by Xenobia



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Compliant, Dick Jokes, Disfigurement, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Het, Humor, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Manga and anime spoilers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sexual Tension, birthday celebration, levihan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2018-12-25 15:46:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 26,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12039111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xenobia/pseuds/Xenobia
Summary: Takes place between events in chapter 90 of the manga. Hange, now commander of Survey Corps, commissions Captain Levi to scout territory in the mountains to search for a supply tower she believes may still be stocked. The scouts need all the supplies and currency they can get in order to carry on with their goals. Against his better judgment, Levi joins her on this excursion. The bitter, early winter makes their mission harder than expected, however. The pair find themselves relying on each other to survive, and they find it increasingly difficult to treat one another as comrades in arms and nothing more.





	1. Part 1: Ice Shack

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this was meant to be finished and published by the day after Hange's birthday, but it's taken longer than I thought. Due to the impending hurricane heading towards us in Florida, I'm trying to get as much written and published as possible before we get slammed with the nasty and lose power. Forgive any mistakes; I'm not giving a thorough proofread before uploading new chapters. I'll go back and correct errors I missed after the weather has settled down again. Happy birthday Hange! Have some Levi cuddles!

_*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the canon characters or the world they belong in. This is for non-profit entertainment only._

* * *

The crunch of snow under their feet and the howl of the wind forced the captain to pitch his voice louder so that the woman just ahead of him could hear him. "Why are we out here?"

It was a rhetorical question. He knew _why_ they were out there, he just still didn't understand the logic behind how they were conducting this venture.

Hange looked back at him. "We went over that already. There's an abandoned supply tower somewhere in these parts. We're going to need as many weapons and supplies as we can find."

Her next words were nearly lost in the wind, and the half-mask she wore under her furred hood for protection from the elements further muffled her voice. "...money cache, too."

"What?"

He sped up his pace to get closer to her. They'd left their horses in the sheltered stables next to a worn out, abandoned shed. The place was once used as a camping waypoint and resource storage. The direction they needed to travel from the waypoint was too treacherous for the horses, hence the decision to go on foot from there.

"I said that there could even be a money cache, according to the old inventory paperwork I found. We could use more of that, too."

"But you don't know for certain." Levi stopped, looking around at the snow and wind-swept path they were on. They were heading for the base of the mountain. He narrowed his eyes against the chill, trying to peer further into the distance. "I think it's a waste of time, Hange. Why the hell didn't you just send a scouting party out here to investigate?"

"Because they'd have probably gotten lost," came her answer. She stopped too and adjusted her goggles. Her eyesight wasn't as keen as Levi's—even less so now since she only had one good eye to see with.

"Could have brought Sasha with us, at least. She'd know this area."

Hange turned to face him. "Sasha is still recovering from her injuries. I'm not dragging her out into this. Our goal right now is to confirm whether this tower is still standing and if it has any supplies left in it. Once we've done that, we'll mark the way and send a transport party out to collect."

"If the damned tower has anything _to_ collect," he grumbled, "and if we find it."

"Levi, I'm doing my best. Our manpower is at an all-time low, we need weapons and materials, and going into titan territory to get that right now isn't an option. We're both able-bodied and experienced enough to do this ourselves, and you aren't a deskwork kind of guy. Since when do you thumb your nose at doing a little legwork?"

"I'm just not thrilled about you being out here." He snapped his mouth shut immediately.

"Me? Why not?" Hange blinked at him.

"Because you're the commander now, idiot. You're also our titan expert. If we lose you, troop morale is going to be even more screwed than it already is. You shouldn't take careless risks."

For a moment, anger flashed in Hange's good eye, making it's color appear a brighter shade of russet. It faded within seconds, and her gaze softened on the captain. "You can't keep me wrapped up like china wear, Levi. After all we've been through, after the sacrifices Erwin made, you know better than most that a good commander has to take risks."

"Not for the hope of a few broken weapons and stale food supplies," he retorted.

"Are you finished, grump?" She put her gloved hands on her hips.

"Tch. Come on. Let's get this over with."

He trudged on ahead, almost petulantly. His body was tense. There weren't any titans in this area, and yet Levi's senses were on alert. Something besides frustration was causing his adrenaline to run high. The captain looked around with narrowed gray eyes again, and he spotted something in the distance that caught his attention.

"Oi, over there." He pointed to the north, where the foot of the mountains loomed. Something was at its base. He could see the crooked, column-shaped structure peeking out amongst the frozen trees, rising just above them.

Hange came up beside him to look. She pulled out a spyglass and held it up to her eye. "I think that's it, Levi! You found it!"

"Don't get too excited yet." He held his hand out. "Let me borrow that spyglass."

She handed it over, and Levi employed his ODM gear to take to the branches of a nearby tree. Finding a perch on a sturdy one, he crouched low and balanced himself. He looked through the spyglass to make sure he hadn't just mistaken a jutting rock formation or broken tree for a man-made structure.

"It's a tower, all right," he called down to his companion. "It looks like your hunch was correct; at least about it still being here. Whether it's actually your supply tower or not remains to be seen."

"There's only one way to find out," she crowed enthusiastically. "Let's hurry!"

Levi came back down from the tree, and he handed her spyglass back to her. Hange took off immediately, hurrying across the open field between them and their goal. Levi followed her. He was just about to tell her to slow down when he heard an ominous crack. It had come from up ahead where his commander was at. The captain looked down, squatted and brushed aside some of the snow with his hand.

It wasn't a snow-covered field they were crossing to get to that tower.

"Hange," Levi shouted, straightening back up. "Get back! It's a lake, and the ice is—"

The ice cracked further, opened up and swallowed her whole like a titan before Levi could finish hollering his warning. Hange's surprised yelp was all he heard from her before she vanished with a frigid splash.

"Hange! Shit...!"

He looked around, and he acted quickly. He anchored his gear hooks into the unbroken ice, and he took a running dive. Sliding over the snow-crusted surface with his wires trailing behind him, he plunged in head-first after his imperiled commander. The water hit him like knives. He nearly expelled the breath he'd taken before submerging when the shock of freezing cold hit him.

...He couldn't see anything...

Levi searched around blindly, hoping there wasn't a current that might have carried Hange too far away already. His knuckles scraped against ice when he reached up, thinking she might have floated back up.

He was under ice. Somehow, the hole he'd dove in through wasn't above Levi's head anymore. He looked up through the murky water, searching for light. It was dim due to the overcast skies and the glassy ice distorting it, but he could see it. He swam towards it, still searching around for any sign of Hange. A hand...a foot...anything. He'd haul her out by the hair if he had to.

He was losing breath, and his limbs were getting heavy. Levi tried to find the break in the ice so that he could take another breath, but all he kept finding the barrier of ice, instead. They were both going to die, and the Survey Corps would be leaderless. Worse yet as far as Levi was concerned, Erwin's vision would die with them.

Something grabbed him, and Levi impulsively struggled against it out of reflex. He realized it was Hange when her chilled, pale face came into blurry view, inches from his own. She grabbed his hand, and they started to rise through the water. Hange placed his hand on something—he could barely feel it—and he realized it was one of his gear wires. He grabbed it as tightly as he could. Levi and Hange used the wires to guide them to the exit hole, kicking and pulling their way along.

They broke through the water at the same time, and Levi pushed at Hange's back from behind to help her out of the water. She in turn grabbed his hands once she was on the surface of the ice. Only when she pulled Levi out practically on top of her did Hange draw a ragged, choked breath. They both rolled onto their sides and coughed up icy water. It took several moments for both scouts to catch their breath and recover enough to speak.

"Alright," rasped Levi, frigid puffs of cloud rising from his bloodless lips, "screw...the tower. Can't...get to it...in this...condition."

Hange's teeth were chattering, and her voice stuttered. "C-c-couldn't...agree more."

"Shelter," gasped Levi. "Back to...the shack."

"W-w-we c-can w-w-warm up there," came her unsteady response.

"Grab...onto me."

Hange looked at him, reminding Levi of a half-drowned hawk. Her drenched hair was already going stiff with ice.

"Do it," he urged. His eyeballs were going to freeze, he thought. So would his whole face, for that matter. If people thought he lacked facial expressions before, they might soon mistake him for a statue.

Hange grabbed hold of Levi's coat, crawling half on top of him with a groan as he rolled onto his stomach. He tried to reach his gear triggers, but his hands were stiff and his position awkward. Hange caught on, and she operated them for him.. They slid across the ice back toward the bank of the frozen lake where Levi had anchored himself before jumping in.

"W-whee," Hange sputtered huskily. "S-sledding on a...midget-t-t."

"Shut up," Levi snapped.

The slide back across the ice hadn't done them any favors in the body warmth department, but it did get them there more quickly and reduced the chance of falling through the ice again. He freed his anchors and reeled his wires back in, grimacing at the screeching sound they made. Exposure to the ice water had made them stiff. He'd have to oil them whenever possible to avoid having them snap on him the next time he needed to use them.

The pair dragged themselves to their feet, helping each other on the way. They began a hobbling trek back to the supply shack and stable. It was an uphill journey, and several times the pair had to push each other to keep going. Their prodding insults to each other lacked fluidity. With Hange's teeth chattering and Levi struggling to breathe the cold air, it was all they could do to speak at all.

"Hah...Oi, Commander Shit-glasses...don't sit...down now."

"Hey-y-y, Captain Cr-r-ranky, y-you're lagging behind!"

Back and forth it went between short breaks to try and warm up by jogging or hopping in place. By the time they made it to the shelter, they were huddling together for warmth and struggling to put one foot in front of the other. Hange tried the door leading into the shack, using both shivering hands to try and lift the latch.

"Stuck," she grunted.

"Move."

Hange stepped aside, having seen Levi's effective yet destructive method of opening locked or jammed doors. Levi took a quick breath and forced his muscles into action. It felt like needles shooting through his leg when his frozen boot struck the wood. It shivered, but held.

"You're shitting me," he rasped. The damned thing was _half rotten_. It should have shattered into a million splinters.

"W-wow," breathed Hange, wide-eyed. "Hypothermia m-must really be g-getting to you."

"I'll get...it open," vowed the captain angrily. His eyes narrowed to slits, and he prepared to do it again.

"Wait, L-Levi." Hange slapped an ice-crusted, gloved hand over his thigh to stop him. "Maybe w-we shouldn't...break it t-t-to pieces. It can k-k-keep the c-cold out if it's...whole."

"Then what?"

"W-we try it t-t-together."

He nodded frigidly, and he swore he saw tiny icicles on his own bangs. "On three."

They counted together in short, clipped tones. Gripping the latch hand over hand together, they combined their efforts. It gave with hardly any resistance, and the door flew open inwards with both scout's weight leaning against it. Levi managed to twist his body so that Hange landed on top of him, breaking her fall but knocking what little breath he could draw from him.

"Sorry!" Hange got off of Levi with effort, and she crawled to the door. She started to push it shut, but when the interior of the shack was cast in darkness, she left it partly open for light. "Levi, y-you okay?"

"Yeah," he groaned. His earlier kick must have un-stuck the latch, but neither of them had considered that.

They'd come there expecting to have to camp for the night, so the place was already inspected and prepped. They brought in rations and blankets from their saddle bags, along with a few other things they might need. There was still some firewood stored in the stables, dry enough for use. Slim though the chances were that the tower hadn't been plundered since the last inventory papers were drawn up on it, at least Levi could say they'd prepared well for this mission. What they _hadn't_ anticipated was that fall through the ice.

"I'll get a fire...started," declared Levi. "You strip."

"Wha...?" Hange's good eye went wide with startled confusion.

"Take your...clothes off. We've both gotta get...out of this wet shit." Looking at the bars hanging from the ceiling over the fireplace, Levi now understood their purpose. "We'll hang them...over the mantle to dry."

"Oh."

Levi started to stack kindling and wood in the fireplace, and when he noticed Hange hadn't moved yet, he affixed her with a bruised gray stare. "Do you want to freeze to death out here? Get out of those clothes and under a blanket."

"R-right."

Hange started to strip, and Levi concentrated on the fireplace, keeping his eyes on what he was doing. He hadn't expected a person like Hange to be modest. Not that Levi would have leered at her, seeing as he wasn't some sleazy pervert. He tried to ignore the bone-chilling cold he felt, and once he had the wood stacked to his satisfaction, Levi worked on getting it lit. He had to pause to take his gloves off and warm his hands a bit, rubbing them together and huffing into his palms. His shaking eased up just enough for him to get the oil cloth lit, and he used it to ignite the kindling.

"Got it," he announced, getting to his feet. He turned without thinking, and he saw Hange's pebbled, stripe-marked body in full. Levi's expression went completely blank, and his eyes swept his companion's form up and down.

He realized he was staring when Hange bent over to retrieve one of the folded winter blankets, giving him a full view of her backside. Tall and athletic, she didn't have a voluptuous figure. Hange was definitely a woman, though, and Levi had never noticed until now how long her legs were.

"Brrr," stated Hange as she shook out the blanket and wrapped it around her. She turned to face him, having freed her hair from its messy ponytail and removed her goggles. She still wore her goggles and eye patch; those and the commander's bolo tie were all she'd left on. Her clothes were in a dripping pile on the creaky floor.

"Uh, hang your clothes up here," suggested Levi, averting his gaze. "I'll shut the door and get undressed. Just work on drying off and warming up."

At least he could breath without feeling like his lungs were drawing in glass shards now. Levi closed the door firmly, and he peeled off his iced-up winter cloak first. He walked back over to the fire, where Hange was hanging up her cloths. She'd cleverly wrapped the blanket around her body and tucked it in like a towel to hold it in place. Levi found it a bit easier to concentrate now that Hange was covered from her bust to her feet.

There was no room for shyness or modesty. He kept that firmly in mind as Levi undressed down to his skivvies, put his boots beside the fireplace and hung his clothes. They were comrades in arms. They were on a mission. Just two fucked up veterans stuck together in a shack with a serious risk of hypothermia, frostbite and pneumonia. Priorities were priorities.

"Levi, aren't you going to take those off, too?"

He'd been standing there holding an inward conversation with himself. He hadn't realized how deep that conversation had become. He focused his lidded gaze on Hange, and he excused his behavior. "They'll dry."

"Yes, eventually," she agreed, eyeing the skimpy garment, "but faster if you hang them up."

He shrugged. "Just thinking of your modesty."

"Hah! My modesty? Sweetheart, if you're worried about exposing yourself to me, don't. Those skivvies aren't hiding a thing, wet and clinging to you as they are." Hange smirked, still inspecting his crotch area.

The captain looked down, and he saw what she meant. The undergarment did nothing to hide his goods. He could see the shadow of his pubic hair through the wet material. His genitals were so clearly outlined that he may as well be naked. Levi's cheeks warmed, and he tried to be nonchalant. With a shrug, he pulled the skivvies down and stepped out of them. With a deadpan expression on his face, he hung them up next to his winter socks. He was still shivering, his muscles jumping uncontrollably in an effort to get warm.

"I think I would have to classify you as an abnormal."

Levi gave a little start at the comment, and he speared Hange with "the look" that tended to send most people scurrying off for shelter. " _Excuse me?_ "

Hange was tapping her lower lip in thought, looking him over like a prime specimen. She wasn't the least bit intimidated by his cold glare. "Hmm? Oh, it was a compliment, Levi. Lighten up! I just meant you deviate from the norm, is all."

"You think comparing me to a titan qualifies as a compliment? Think again."

"I wasn't really comparing you to a titan," she defended, spreading her hands. "Just using the term we've coined for the ones that stand apart from their brethren."

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," snapped Levi, brows pinched. "Did your brain freeze out there, or what?"

"Not at all. I was talking about the way you're put together, Grump. Genetics short-changed you on height, but they clearly applied those inches to other...attributes. Say, does your gear harness cause you exceptional discomfort in the groin area? I imagine it has to, at times. No wonder you're so moody."

Levi's mouth fell open the slightest bit, his expression relaxing into one of disbelief over her brazen observations. She talked about him like he was one of her test subjects, like she was making mental notes about his body and trying to discover more. He wouldn't have described her talk as flirtatious, but with Hange, one could never be too sure. Science excited her. Levi thought it was the only thing she got off on.

"That's none of your business," Levi reprimanded curtly. "Are we finished talking 'Dick anatomy 101'? I'm fucking freezing."

In fact, Levi thought it was ironic that Hange seemed so impressed by his junk. He felt like it was trying to crawl back up inside him from the cold. He ignored the impulse to cover his groin, refusing to give shit-glasses the satisfaction of reacting to her inappropriate observations. He hugged himself instead, and he rubbed his arms and stepped closer to the fire, trembling.

Hange solicitously draped one of the other blankets over Levi's shoulders before he could do it himself. "There you go."

He tugged the blanket around him, and another shiver passed through his body. He put aside the weird conversation they'd had a moment ago. It was Hange, after all. Levi was used to hearing her spout off crazy bullshit at random.

"Thanks. We should eat and drink something warm."

"I agree. I'll look in the backpack for some nibbles, and you get some tea ready."

* * *

A short while later, they sat huddled by the fire together, eating a bland meal and sipping tea. Hange had used some of the dried soup powder mix from their rations to prepare a bone broth. Together with the dried field rations, it wasn't bad. They dipped the ration blocks in the broth to soften it up, and they drank the remaining liquid in their bowls once finished with the rations.

"Not exactly gourmet," said Hange with a burp, "but it fills the stomach."

Levi nodded, gazing into the fire. "It does. Nice work, Hange."

She put a hand over is forehead abruptly, and Levi flinched at the cold touch and shot a glare at her. "What are you doing?"

"Checking you for fever. It's not like you to praise my cooking."

"I'm not feverish," he grumbled, slapping her hand away.

"Then why is your face flushed?"

"It's chafed from the cold, all right? It just shows more on me 'cause I'm paler than you are."

"Hmm." Hange regarded him thoughtfully. "You do have a point. Your soft white skin has to be more sensitive to irritants and harsh conditions than other people's."

The captain's lids drooped. He gave her a flat stare. "Don't act like I'm some delicate flower petal, Hange. I've had more stinking hot titan blood splashed on me than anyone else in this gig, and I haven't melted."

"Of course not. You're quite the resilient little wrecking ball. You _do_ have nice, soft skin though. It makes me wonder what you do to keep it so healthy and pliant."

Levi dropped his gaze. "It's called hygiene. See, I do this thing called washing my face on a regular basis. You should try it sometime. Anyhow if I didn't know better, I'd think you were feeding me pickup lines."

"Really?" Hange grinned. "I thought I was just paying a compliment to a friend. Can I help it if you've got some very noticeable, very nice genetic traits? Come to think of it, Mikasa has beautiful skin, too. It has to run in your clan."

"Bullshit," huffed Levi. "You saw my uncle Kenny when we were going up against him. The guy's face was porous as a sponge and rough as sandpaper."

"True, but people inherit different traits from their lineage. Two siblings from the same parents could look nothing alike. Kenny obviously inherited the height in the family. You got the beauty. Oh, and the big dick."

Levi coughed, his eyes widening briefly. "Shit, you don't know when to stop, do you?"

"Nope." There was a twinkle in her eye.

"Anyway, how do you know Kenny wasn't packing? It's not like you pulled down his pants in the fight."

"I choose to believe he was lacking in that department," Hange said with a shrug. "That guy had 'little dick' syndrome written all over everything he said and did."

Levi rolled his eyes. "Fine. So is this what we're gonna be doing all night? Talking about my skin and cock?"

"We could talk about other things." Hange sighed, and she adjusted the blanket around her. "But since we're stuck here, we may as well talk about something besides military matters, death and titans. Not that I mind discussing titans, but I know you're tired of that subject."

"All right, but let's drop the subject about dicks and skin care, shall we?"

Hange finished off her cup of tea with a nod. "All right, then. We can talk about other things."

Levi frowned. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well, we could play a little game. Let's call it: _'What do we like about each other'_. Let's face it Levi, we're both very good at pointing out what we see as flaws, but we hardly ever offer sincere compliments."

"Let's play a different game," he grumbled.

"Oh no, you won't get off that easy." Hange bent her knees and locked her hands beneath them, rocking back and forth as she looked at him curiously. "Go ahead, Levi. Try to say something nice about me."

He looked at her expressionlessly, but Levi honestly was at a loss. As far as he was concerned, his insults should be enough to show his affection. Anyone that knew him understood that his crude put-downs were Levi's version of pet names. Hange actually had more nicknames than most. She was asking for a simple, plain compliment, though. Levi's mouth twitched with annoyance, and he struggled with himself.

"You're...smart."

Hange made a "tsk" sound that was almost like Levi's habitual sounds of annoyance. "You can't do better than that?"

The captain sighed. "You know I'm not good at this shit, Hange."

"Well, try harder. Break your own record. Isn't there anything positive about me you can say that isn't already commonly observed?"

It seemed really important to her. He didn't know why she was so determined to get compliments from him. It wasn't like he never...

Then it hit him. Winter had come tearing in with a vengeance, extremely early this year. Levi couldn't help but associate it with Erwin's death. He wasn't a poetic man, but Levi strongly felt that a light of hope had been mercilessly snuffed out, and now the world itself was in morning, plunged into premature cold and darkness. Coming up into the mountains where winter typically hit sooner, that impression was even stronger.

And yet, they were just into the month of September. Hange's birthday was coming up in a few days. Usually they would all do something together on their birthdays...the senior veterans, that was. Him, Erwin, Mike, Hange and Nanaba. It was a wordless tradition they'd started back when the bonds of hardship, conflict, triumph and tragedy drew them all closer together.

Now it was just Levi and Hange. Nobody else was left. That was why Levi had felt such panic when she fell through the ice, he realized. He didn't want to be completely alone, would have rather perished with her than be the last man standing of their band.

If he was honest with himself, he had selfish reasons for a lot of the things he excused as practicality. He'd let Erwin die because he didn't want to see him suffer in this hell they lived in any longer, not because Armin was the more logical choice, or because it would have been too tragic for him to die so young. He'd objected to Hange personally going on this mission to find the supply tower because he didn't want her risking a pointless death, that was true. It was also true that Levi didn't want to see her die. Selfishly, he wanted to be the one to go first.

"Come on, Levi," prompted Hange with a sigh. "You can't even think of one teeny little thing?"

He dropped his pensive thoughts, and he looked at her. If this was what she wanted as part of her birthday gift, then he would play along. Levi scanned her up and down, taking in her appearance.

For someone that had recently fallen through ice and nearly ended up as a Popsicle, Hange didn't look half bad. She was still paler than usual, but the fire had warmed them both up and put some color into their cheeks again. Her light olive complexion kind of glowed in the firelight, he thought. Her hair was almost dry now, and it fell loose to just below her shoulders. He hadn't realized it was that long; Hange never took it out of that damned messy ponytail and it concealed the length of it. The icy water must have cleansed it some, because Levi was noticing a luster he wasn't used to seeing. Usually Hange's hair looked a bit dull to him, with little to no sheen at all. He even thought it looked kind of brittle at times, but that was just the dirt and oil coating it, obviously.

"You really _are_ bad at this," growled Hange. "Forget I—"

"Just give me a second, all right? Damn, I'll bet you were the kind of kid that peeked at your gifts on Christmas Eve 'cause you didn't have enough patience to wait."

Hange settled down, but she raised an expectant brow at him. She looked like she was getting offended.

"Your hair," he finally said, focusing on that first because it was the simplest thing. "It's...not bad."

She frowned. "Not bad? You hate my hair, though. Always complaining that it's smelly and tangled."

Levi shrugged. "That's because you never wash or brush it properly, but now that I'm seeing it after our dunk..."

He reached out slowly, almost afraid to touch it. Maybe it would fall out if he tugged on it. That ponytail of hers could be the only thing keeping those strands intact. Hange held still, watching him with anticipation and a little awe on her face. Levi touched a lock of it, pinching it between his thumb and forefinger. Rather than pull it as he was wont to do on occasional impulse, Levi stroked it thoughtfully. Hange's hair had a slight wave to it when it wasn't so weighed down with grit and oil and god knew what chemicals. It was even soft, and it did have some shine.

"It looks good down," Levi told her, stroking the lock slowly and thoughtfully. He looked up from it at Hange's face. She was staring at him like she thought he was about to pull her hair, say something derisive or both.

"Frames your face," he went on, words tumbling from his lips in a near desperate attempt to pacify her need for compliments. He just spoke his immediate thoughts, choosing not to analyze them or censor them because he would just fuck it up if he tried that. "It's...soft. Makes me notice things about your features I overlook sometimes."

"Go on," she murmured. She leaned a little closer to him—possibly to see him better since she'd hung her goggles up when they ate. "What about my features, Levi? This should be interesting."

He leaned back a bit, suddenly uncomfortable in a very weird fashion. He released the lock of hair. "You've got a good face. Pretty eyes...er...eye, nice cheekbones, interesting nose. I uh, like the way it turns down a little at the tip. Reminds me of a bird beak."

Hange smirked. "I suppose how I take that depends on what kind of bird you mean."

"A hawk or a falcon," he said immediately. "It's got character."

"And my eyes are pretty?" Hange blinked. "I never knew you thought that."

"They're really expressive. Interesting color, too."

Hange smiled. "That is the nicest thing you've ever said to me, Levi. I know you're only saying it because I hounded you, but I appreciate you playing along to make me happy."

He felt his brows pull together. "What do you mean? You think I was bullshitting?"

Hange glanced off to the side, and she rocked again. "Not exactly. You were obviously trying hard to find something to compliment me on, so at least it made you really _look_ at me. You never really thought of me as a woman though, did you? Maybe you even found me ugly—"

"You're not," Levi said, "ugly. I never thought so. Filthy yeah, but not ugly."

She smiled the tiniest bit at him. "Really?"

"Oi, I don't lie to my friends. If I say you're pretty, then you're goddamned pretty, all right?"

Hange gave a little start. "Whoo, you're actually _mad_ , aren't you? Okay Levi. I'm pretty. Calm down."

"I'm serious, four-eyes."

"I know." Hange smiled at him. "And I won't contradict you again. So, is there anything else you like about my appearance?"

"Tch. You still want more?" He was tired from their ordeal, and Levi thought he might actually sleep for more than three hours tonight...if Hange would ever let him.

"Just one more," she pleaded. "One more for Commander Cyclops, and we can call it quits."

"I've only got so much in me in the way of praise, Hange. Let's see." An idea came to him then, and Levi reclined back with his elbows supporting him, stretching his legs out on the floor in a lazy, relaxed manner. He looked at Hange's exposed calves where the blanket had ridden up, and he decided some payback was in order.

"Say," Levi nodded at the long, toned forelegs meaningfully. "Do those go all the way up?"

Hange's eye went wide and shocked. "L-Levi!"

"What's the matter?" He kept his body relaxed, and he gave her a deliberately lascivious stare; the kind a lot of guys employed when they were trying to pick someone up. "Maybe I should warm you up. Looks like your cheeks are getting wind-chapped."

"No they aren't, I'm blushing!"

He dropped his facade, rolled his eyes and damned near laughed—or as close to it as he tended to get. "Heh, you idiot. You didn't even try to play it off."

"W-well that was very unlike you."

"You wanted another compliment." He sat up and shrugged. "I gave it to you."

"That was more like a proposition, and I don't mean the kind Erwin used to be so fond of spouting out in the middle of court proceedings."

"So, kind of like you describing my dick?" Levi smirked. He had her now.

Hange scratched her head. "That was...different. I was speaking from a scientific biological standpoint. _You_ were acting like some sleaze in a tavern."

"You're the one that wanted me to check you out," he reminded evenly, enjoying himself a bit too much. "If you can talk about my dick, I can talk about your legs. Unless of course you would rather me focus on other body parts. We can play it that way, too."

Hange's mouth fell open, and then a wide smile split her face. She laughed raucously, and she pushed at him in a playful yet rough way. "You _are_ still a bad boy, Ackerman."

He righted himself, focusing a hooded gaze on her. "Who the hell ever said I was good? Anyway, I've heard and seen enough sleazo's fire off lines like that at women in my life to know how to imitate them. Disgusting pigs."

"So I take it you aren't much for flirting," Hange observed dryly.

"Who's got the time? Anyway, given the current state of affairs and the average life expectancy of a scout, it doesn't make much sense to strike up a love affair. Erwin had it right when he told me he'd never marry. He said when soldiers in our line of work marry civilian women, they make widows out of them every time."

Hange stared down at her lap, now sitting cross-legged. "Good point. Depressing, but good point." She shivered and leaned over to grab up the extra blanket. "Brr. It's getting chillier in here."

"Yeah. The temperature's probably dropped by ten degrees outside since the sun went down. I'll go check on the horses."

"Don't stay out there long," warned Hange. "Especially barefoot with nothing on but a blanket. You'll freeze your little tootsies off."

"I'll be quick," he promised.

* * *

Levi was chilled again when he came back into the shack, and he hurried over to the rug on the floor in front of the fireplace to sit back down and warm his feet. Hange was sipping on something from her flask, and he eyed it suspiciously when she made a face and shivered.

"You aren't going to get drunk on me now, are you?"

"Hmm?" Hange swallowed the mouthful she'd just taken, then looked at the flask. "Oh, this. No, it's just brandy. Helps warm you up a little. Want some?"

"I'll pass." Levi tugged the blanket tighter around him. He grunted a little in annoyance when Hange cuddled up to him for warmth. "Just don't overdue it. Me and Erwin used to take bets on who snored the loudest after a night of drinking: you or Mike. Nanaba always stuck up for Mike"

Hange choked a little on her next pull, and she wiped her mouth. "Ah, the good old days." She capped the flask and put it aside. Hooking an arm with Levi's, she leaned close to him and put her head on his shoulder. "I miss them. All of them, not just our fellow veterans."

He almost nudged her off of him, but her warmth felt good, and her hair didn't stink like it usually did. Levi also empathized with her quiet, heartfelt statement. He patted the hand resting on his forearm, consoling her in his own reserved awkward way.

"Me too."

"The fire is starting to burn low," Hange announced, nodding at the flickering hearth. "Shouldn't we add more wood to keep it going?"

"I'll do it."

"No, wait...just stay here under the blankets with me," ordered the commander. "Now that I think about it, we shouldn't feed it. We're about to go to sleep, aren't we? It's better not to leave an un-tended fire blazing. It could throw an ember onto something and start a fire while we sleep."

Levi stopped reaching for the spare wood on the rack, glanced back at her and nodded. "Good point. I'd rather not get burned alive after nearly freezing to death. One extreme is enough for me."

Hange patted the space next to her, where they'd spread out the extra blanket over the rug. "Come reminisce with me for a while, then. Maybe we'll both get pleasant dreams out of it."

"Or nightmares," muttered the captain.

"Oh, don't be so pessimistic. Talking about the good times will relax us both and give us sweet dreams."

"If you insist."

Levi himself didn't like to talk about the past. Even recalling the good moments took him to a dark place, reminding him that they were done and over with, mere shadows of the past. He said nothing of this to Hange, though. This would be another part of her birthday gift. Levi decided that he would do three nice things for the commander for her birthday; one for each of their lost veteran comrades.

* * *

They talked in depth about the old days, reliving their recruitment into the scouts and the bonds they'd formed in the days to follow. Hange laughed quite a few times when a particular memory tickled her. Levi was more solemn about it. Before either of them knew it, they dozed off, leaning against each other.

It wasn't until the blanket cloaking Levi slipped off his shoulders that the captain jerked awake, roused by the chill against his bare skin. He frowned and peered around, gathering his bearings. The lingering glow of the dying embers and the low illumination of the glow lamp gave him enough light to see with. Recalling where they were, he glanced down at the messy dark head nudged against his left shoulder. Hange was snoring softly, steadily slipping. Soon she might fall face-first into his lap.

"Hange," Levi whispered. The moan of the wind, the nicker of one of the horses in the stable, and the creak of the shack lent a kind of haunted feel to their surroundings. He shivered, and he supported Hange with one arm while trying to tug his blanket back over his shoulders at the same time.

"Hange," he said again, giving her a little shake.

Her blanket slipped as well, and she stirred with a mumble, lifting her head groggily. "What time is it?"

"No idea. We should lie down and bundle up, though. I'm used to sleeping upright but you'll wake up bitching about a sore neck if you do it."

"I suppose." Hange yawned, and she lay down on the cushioning winter blanket with her back to the fireplace. She shivered and covered her head up. "Brr. I don't think my blanket's going to be enough for me, Levi."

Levi joined her side, tucking up under his blanket. "We'll just have to make due until morning. If we're going to make a second try for that tower right away, it might even be better not to start another fire at all."

"I see your point, but it's going to make it damned uncomfortable to get dressed. At the very least, we should still stack some fresh kindling and wood in the firebox before we go. We may need to warm up again after we come back."

Levi pillowed his head on his bent arm, watching as she peeked out at him from under her blanket. "We can do that. Hey, why are you still wearing that patch? Don't you take the thing off when you sleep at night?"

"Oh, uh...usually."

"So why do you still have it on?" he asked. "It's got to be uncomfortable."

Hange looked away. "I'm just used to it. No big deal."

Levi stared at her, and it occurred to him that she was self-conscious about her damaged eye. He'd never seen Hange be self-conscious about anything before. He also hadn't seen what her eye looked like under that patch since she sustained the injury that half-blinded her. He didn't speak, just reached out to touch the patch lightly. She looked at him, going still as Levi pulled the blanket down a little so that her head wasn't half-covered.

Still saying nothing, Levi hooked a finger beneath the strap holding Hange's eye patch secure, and he pulled it carefully up and off of her face. He put it aside, and he scrutinized the patch of shiny scar tissue surrounding her left eye. It was a lighter pigment than the rest of Hange's face, a little pink in contrast to the olive complexion. It wasn't as extreme as he'd been imagining. It wasn't misshapen, and the eye itself was whole. The color of the eye was dulled, bleached by a milky film and almost pink in hue. The pupil was wider than its twin in Hange's good eye, non-responsive to light or darkness.

Levi found himself caressing the scarring, comparing the damaged eye to the healthy one. "It's not bad."

She briefly bit her lips, and she met his gaze. "Do you think so?"

"Yeah. I was expecting an empty socket or something."

"Well, the physicians did a very good job treating it, once they got the chance," she explained. "Just as they did a good job cleaning up Erwin's arm and helping it to heal cleanly. We really do have some good medics in our ranks."

"I can't argue with that."

Levi took his hand away, and he tugged his blanket up to cover his shoulder. Their breath was now coming out in foggy puffs as the temperature in the shack steadily dropped. The remaining warmth from the dying embers in the fireplace was being quickly leeched away by the chill. The wind howled outside, and the draft seeping through the floor and walls was bone-chilling.

"Levi, we should share body warmth," suggested Hange. "We'll both sleep better for it and wake up less stiff in the morning."

Seeing the logic of it and not particularly fond of the prospect of shivering his balls off all night, Levi nodded. Hange wriggled closer to him, and she surprised him by pulling open her blanket, exposing herself to him.

"Come on. Under the blankets together."

He gave her nudity a quick inspection, compelled by the fact that it was right there in front of him. Scarred in places like himself and bearing the marks of harness straps from years of ODM use, Hange's body was nonetheless attractive. She had more developed muscle tone than common women, as most soldiers did. Her breasts were small and firm, the nipples dusky and small. Her waist was a bit thicker than the average woman's, due to muscle mass. The curve of her hip was very feminine in contrast, and her thighs were smooth and long.

Levi dragged his gaze back up when he saw the shadow of her pubic hair, reminding himself that she was his comrade and his commander. He opened his own blanket, and Hange's gaze briefly scrutinized him before they pressed up against each other, overlapping their blankets and embracing. Their bodies fit together better than Levi would have expected.

"Mmm, that's much better," sighed Hange against his hair.

Levi said nothing. It was warmer this way, sure. Unfortunately, with that warmth came an awkwardness he hadn't felt in years. With Hange pressed flush against him, skin on skin, he was more aware than ever that she was a woman. He downplayed it, brushing it off as a natural, instinctive reaction for his body to have after being starved for intimacy. It wasn't a big deal...just two people keeping each other warm. That was all. The captain shut his eyes and tried to go to sleep.

"Levi?"

His eyes slitted open, his brows pinching with annoyance. "What is it? We should get to sleep, four eyes."

"I know, it's just...did you slip your flare gun under your blanket?"

He frowned. "No, why?"

"Well, _something's_ digging into my hip and if it's not a flare gun..."

He groaned very softly. Wonderful. "It's my dick, okay? Don't get excited; it's not something I can help. You're a biologist, you should know men don't control these things at will."

"Just making sure." There was a smirk in Hange's voice, but she wisely didn't tease him. "Goodnight, you abnormally blessed little man."

"Shut up."

* * *

-To be continued


	2. Part 2: Freedom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for the reviews and the kudos! I hope you've enjoyed this little Levihan story. The second chapter is a doozy; turned out much longer than expected.

With the morning came a special kind of awkwardness. In her slumbering, disoriented state, Hange thought she was home in her own new bed. She wondered in the back of her mind why it was so hard, and why there was such a cold draft going up her backside. She'd just recently replaced the old bed in her sleeping quarters with a custom one she'd commissioned. The titan expert was a restless sleeper, and she'd rolled out of her old bed one time too many. The new bed was wider than a single, yet smaller than a queen-size. The mattress was comfortable yet supportive, and the first night Hange had slept in it had been the most comfortable and restful night of sleep she'd had in a long time.

So why then did her hips ache, and why was she hearing that annoying whistling and creaking sound? Her sleeping quarters weren't drafty, and her bed didn't creak.

Annoyed, Hange hugged her pillow tighter. Funny, even her hugging pillow didn't feel right. There were hard angles and lumps that it shouldn't have had, for one thing. For another, it felt unusually warm. And since when did her pillow have a heartbeat, for that matter? Let alone a pair of legs entwined with hers, and a pair of arms around her?

She opened her eyes slowly, and they adjusted to the dim lantern light and the gray daylight filtering in between the cracks in the door and the window shutters. The first thing Hange saw was an extreme close-up of a bare, male chest. It was a _very nice_ chest, in fact. Fair skinned with cute little pink nipples, it was practically as flawless as a statue but for the stripes of slightly rougher, darker skin where an ODM harness had left its marks and the faded scars here and there. She couldn't recall the last time she'd woken up with her face shoved between a pair of such well-developed, muscular man-boobs.

Scratch that; this was a first. Hange's past experiences with men tended to be limited to the intellectual types like herself, and while none of them were exactly flabby, neither did they typically invest in more physical fitness than required. The one exception she'd had to her usual flavor in men had been Keith Shadis. To this day, she was still convinced that she'd developed a crush on the man because she'd trained under him.

Stunned over waking up to this sight, it took Hange a moment to figure it out. Had she drank too much last night and hooked up with an old boyfriend? It wouldn't be the first time she woke up in the bed of someone she worked with. The one time she and Moblit bumped uglies, neither of them could recall how it happened. They woke up naked together the next morning with killer hangovers, and they both vowed never to speak of it again.

This wasn't Moblit's chest, though. For one thing there was no hair on it, and it would have been a lot flatter and less toned if it were his. More importantly, poor Moblit was dead. Definitely couldn't be him.

More curious than alarmed—as Hange tended to be with every unusual experience—she pulled away a bit and tilted her head back to look at the face of the man this lovely physique belonged to. Seeing the familiar, pale features of her one remaining veteran friend, it suddenly all came together for her and made perfect sense.

Of _course_ it was Levi's chest. She should have recognized it right away. She'd seen him shirtless before whenever they were both waiting to take a physical, and while she'd never openly ogled him, Hange had always secretly appreciated how he was built…at least from an aesthetic point of view. A nice body was a nice body, after all. She also recalled the events of the day before, and how they'd ended up naked under these blankets together.

As she stared at Levi's sleeping face, Hange had to marvel over how young he looked. His dark bangs hung over his right eye, and that little crease usually present between his brows was smoothed out in his slumber. His lips were parted, and his breathing was deep and even. His breath fogged the air, like hers, and somehow it smelled like tea.

"Sometimes I think you're _made_ of tea," whispered Hange with a smirk.

"Mmph," came the soft, grunting response, and Levi pressed his cold little nose against the crook where Hange's neck met her shoulder.

The commander froze, eyes widening. She didn't know where to put her hands. She was actually afraid to move. For Levi to snuggle her like this of his own accord, even if he wasn't aware he was doing it, was very strange, indeed. Last night they'd cuddled out of necessity to share body warmth, but he didn't even seem to know what he was doing right now.

To wake him, or not to wake him? That was the question. He was just so unbearably… _cute_ like this, and Levi's hard, ripped little body was so warm, his skin so soft against hers. It was a wonder that Hange had woken up first, because Levi was known for being even more of an insomniac than she was. She supposed it could be explained by exhaustion. He'd put forth the most physical effort of the two of them, really. He'd jumped straight in after her when Hange fell through the ice yesterday, and it was Levi that dragged them off the pond using his ODM gear, Levi that had done all the heavy lifting bringing in firewood from the remainder of the supply stacked in the stable. Come to think of it, Hange hadn't done much in the way of physical exertion since they arrived at the shack.

She bit her lip. She really didn't want to disturb his sleep, but they needed to get a move on and get to that tower while the day was young. The sooner they reached it and took stock of the situation, the sooner they could pack up and head back to Trost with their findings. Another night out here snuggled up to him this way might inspire further inappropriate behavior. Situations like this could lead to…

"Oi, what time is it?"

Hange gave a start, and she looked at Levi's face. He hadn't opened his eyes yet, and she wondered if he was talking in his sleep. "Are you awake?"

"Unfortunately," he mumbled. His eyes slowly opened, silvery-pale in the morning light. They focused on her, heavy-lidded as usual and a bit shadowed. "You were muttering. It woke me up."

"I was?" Hange blinked, and then her cheeks warmed. She did have a habit of talking under her breath to herself when doing research or contemplating theories. Hopefully she hadn't spoken too much of her thoughts aloud. "Sorry. I was just calculating how much daylight we'd have to finish what we came here to do. It's hard to be sure, but I think it's around eight o'clock-ish."

"Then we'd better get dressed, have some breakfast and get going," suggested the captain.

He didn't move, though. His arms remained around Hange, and his quiet gaze bored into hers. Was that a question she detected in his eyes, or a challenge? But what _was_ the question, and if that wasn't it, what was the challenge? It wasn't the first time he'd silently communicated with her, but it would be the first time she couldn't ascertain what he was trying to say.

"I don't want to get up either," Hange finally said, taking a wild stab at it. "It's going to be colder than a witch's tit in a brass bra as soon as we take these blankets off."

"Copying me now, are you?" Levi smirked the tiniest bit.

Hange shrugged. "You do come up with some creative lines. Anyhow, we really should…should get up. Erm…not like that, Levi."

He had an erection again, and she could feel it resting against her stomach due to her position. She still wasn't sure at what point during the night she'd scooted down and buried her face against his chest, and she was a little amazed that she hadn't tossed and turned in the night. As hard and uncomfortable as their bedroll on the floor was, Hange had slept better cuddled up to Levi than she'd slept in months.

Levi's face, Hange could swear, took on a pink hue. "Morning wood," he excused.

"But you just got hard a second ago—"

"No I didn't," he snapped. "You just didn't notice because you weren't pressed so tight against me down there."

She parted her lips to argue, but the glare he gave her changed her mind. Goodness, if looks could kill, Levi would have already decimated the remaining titans between Wall Rose and Wall Maria just by staring them down with that piercing look.

"Ah well," improvised the commander. "It's a common thing for men. Shall we brave the cold and get dressed?"

"Yeah. You first."

"Why me?"

"Because…you know…'ladies first'," he reasoned.

"Since when do you think of me as a 'lady', pipsqueak?" Hange fought back a laugh. He was being shy again. She'd presumed it was just in her head last night when he'd covered up his groin, but now she thought she must have embarrassed him with her observations about his manhood after all.

"I don't," he clarified, "but I've got a problem you don't have, so it's better for you to get up first."

"Oh, you mean the abnormal winky."

"Don't fucking call it that," he groused, face darkening to a deeper shade of pink. "What are you, a kid? Call it what it is, and don't use terms like 'abnormal', either. For fuck's sake, you make me sound deformed."

"You aren't deformed," assured Hange. Unable to help herself, she lifted his blanket up for a peek, and her eyes widened. "No, not deformed at all. Son of a bitch, Levi, that is impressive."

He yanked the blanket back down and scooted away from her. "You perverted lunatic…just get dressed, all right? I'll cover up my head to give you some privacy."

Amused that such a curt and crude man would be so modest, Hange forgot about her own misgivings and tossed the blanket back to get up. Feeling mischievous and curious about whether anything Levi said the night before was the truth, she deliberately arched her back like a cat and stretched, easing the cramps out of her muscles. She made sure to do it with her left side facing Levi so that she could watch him from the corner of her good eye.

Yes, he was definitely looking, and she swore she could see the pink flush in his cheeks darken. He ducked under the blanket after that, and, satisfied that she'd confirmed he at least found her a little appealing, Hange pulled her clothing down from the overhead rack it was hanging from.

"Just think," she said conversationally to her hiding companion, "we can be done with this by noon and be on our way back home, if we manage our time and find a safe path to the tower."

"Better take to the trees and circle around that lake," came Levi's muffled suggestion. "I don't want another ice bath. We're lucky neither of us woke up sick from it."

"Very true." Hange finished getting her pants on, and she pulled on her thick winter socks. "Our ODM gear might need some oiling before we set out. The exposure to that icy water might have done a little damage to it."

"I was thinking the same thing," admitted Levi. "You decent yet?"

"Almost." Hange buttoned up her shirt, found her bolo tie and put it on. "Okay grump, it's safe to poke your head out now."

He pulled the blanket down and sat up. Hange paused in threading her hair into her customary ponytail, her eyes trying to glue to his bare torso. She shouldn't have put her goggles on so soon. She wouldn't have been able to see him so clearly if she'd waited to equip the eyewear. Deciding she needed to focus on something else, she looked around for her eye patch.

"Levi, have you seen my patch? I know we took it off last night but I can't seem to find it."

He searched around their bedding, and he found it under her discarded blanket. "Here. You don't really need it, though."

Hange caught the item when he threw it to her. "People will stare if I go without it." She took her goggles off so that she could secure the eye patch. She'd seen the way her injury looked in the mirror. While the scarring wasn't severe and there was no disfigurement beyond that, the milky glaze over her eye was quite the attention grabber.

"Since when do you care if anyone gives you a funny look? You already get plenty of stares with the way you behave half the time."

Hange shrugged, and she tied the patch on. She couldn't see. "Shit, I've gone totally blind!"

"That's because you've got it covering the wrong eye, idiot."

Suddenly Levi's hands were on her face, holding it still. He adjusted the patch to fit over her left eye, and Hange blinked at him. Feeling foolish, she gave him a sheepish grin. "I haven't had my coffee yet."

Levi frowned. "Coffee?"

She nodded. "Yeah, you know…that ground stuff we found stashed in one of the supply bases last week? It's called coffee, and it's stronger than tea. Nice pick-me-up. I want to find out how they cultivate that stuff and grow some beans myself."

"Great, so now you're drinking filthy Marley beverages." He scowled with disapproval.

"Yes, I'm drinking 'filthy Marley beverages'. So what? You're forgetting that we originally came from the same place, Levi, including your family."

"They can pry my tea from my cold, dead hands. I've killed human beings because of those fuckers and their sick quest for world domination."

Hange sighed, and she placed her hands on his shoulders. "I understand your anger. One day, we'll hopefully put an end to this conflict and win out. First we have to regroup, research and rally. The three R's, Levi. We can't win out against them until we have a solid strategy and the manpower to pull it off. Let's just focus on that, for now."

Levi clicked his tongue with annoyance, glancing off to the side with a burning stare at nothing. Hange bit her lip. She knew where the heart of his frustration lay. Levi was still dwelling on the fact that he hadn't been able to avenge Erwin. He'd made a promise to their former commander that he would take down the beast titan. He'd made that vow just before Erwin led the sacrificial charge that cost him his life, along with ninety percent of their remaining forces. Unfortunately, General Zeke—aka the "beast titan"—escaped before Levi could complete his mission.

Hange started to say something, wanting to offer her companion some encouragement and compassion. She was very aware that Levi was stark nude, though. Hange didn't point it out, because at the moment, his mind seemed to be on other things and she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. She refrained from making any dick jokes, and she turned away. His morning wood had gone down, at least. The cold probably had more to do with that than anything else.

"I'll go and check on the horses while you get dressed."

"Yeah. Good plan."

So distracted by his morose thoughts that Levi's modesty evidently flew the coop, he turned away from her and began pulling his clothes down. Hange got her first full glimpse of his ass, and she made the interesting discovery that Levi's physique and manhood weren't the only impressive parts of his anatomy. With the uniform sash constantly covering his hips and backside, she'd never noticed Levi's butt before. Damn, but it was cute. Muscular, round and silken white as cream, it was the kind of tushy that made a body want to grab it with both hands and give it a tight squeeze.

"Thought you were going to check on the horses." Levi didn't turn to look at her as he gave her the reminder, his attention on shaking his shirt out to loosen it up.

"Ah, the horses. Right. I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

* * *

After feeding the horses some of the grain they'd brought with them and adjusting their blankets, Hange went back inside and shared a cold meal of field rations with Levi. They nearly lit a fire, but decided against it because they couldn't leave it unattended while they journeyed to the supply tower. They oiled up their ODM gear and tested it before heading out; this time leaving the door to the shack open a crack to prevent it sticking from the frost.

On the way to their goal, Hange kept thinking about what Levi had said about her eye patch. The captain didn't think Hange needed to keep wearing the patch to cover up her injured eye. It made her feel good to know that Levi wasn't repulsed by it, but at the same time, what little bit of vanity Hange possessed demanded that she not openly advertise her disfigurement. Maybe she could go without the patch when she was just around Levi, since her bad eye didn't faze him.

They took to the trees as planned, avoiding the deceptive open "field" that they'd fallen through the day before. It was actually much faster to use the ODM gear to reach their destination than it would have been to walk straight across the frozen lake, Hange found. Once they touched down at the base of the tower, they found a broken, covered supply wagon there. With a glance at each other, they climbed into it to inspect it.

"Kerosene oil," stated Hange after opening one of the crates and finding sealed jars of the fuel. "What does that one have, Levi?"

"Nothing in this one," he answered. He found a burlap sack, and he opened it cautiously, as if expecting something to jump out at him. He peered inside, and then he pulled the sack closer to the canvas opening to get more light. Reaching in, he produced a small box from the confines of the bag.

"What is it?" Hange crowded closer to him.

"It's…tea." Levi opened the lid, took a pinch of the contents out and sniffed it. "Black Temperance with orange notes, like what I drink."

"Oh, you scored there, then!" Hange grinned at him as Levi carefully closed the lid and then inspected the rest of the sack's contents. "How many boxes?"

"Four, in all," came his mildly surprised answer. "We'll be taking this sack back with us."

"Of course," chuckled Hange. Only a fool would stand between Levi and his favorite tea leaf blend. "Let's see about getting that tower door open. I can't wait to see what we might find inside! If the tea and lamp oil were left behind undisturbed, then odds are the inventory stored in the tower will be intact as well."

"Don't get too excited," warned Levi, hopping down out of the cart. "Just because a few boxes of tea and some lamp oil weren't taken doesn't mean anything. If bandits hit this tower since the last time any military staff were here, they'd have made off with the most valuable stuff."

"Don't be so pessimistic," chided Hange. She dug through her supply pouch for the key she'd found with the reports. "It doesn't look as though the lock has been tampered with. The door is a bit weathered, but whole. I think it looks promising."

Levi came up behind her, and he lit up a torch while she struggled to get the key to turn in the frozen lock. Finally, it opened with a click and Hange took the iron padlock off to lift the bar. She pushed the door open inwards with a grunt of effort, and she took the torch Levi offered to her. Holding it up, she stepped into the tower and she looked around. There was nothing of note, unfortunately. Just a rickety desk for taking inventory, an empty weapon rack and a rifle that looked like it would backfire in someone's face if they tried to shoot it.

Unwilling to give up, Hange went for the trap door up against the far wall beneath the spiral staircase. She handed the torch back to Levi, and she bent over to pull on the iron ring. It took a moment for it to budge, and she almost flew backwards into her companion once it gave. Taking the torch again from Levi, she checked the cellar opening to be sure the ladder was sturdy enough to hold their weight, and she went down first.

They made it to the bottom, and Hange's eye lit up as she surveyed the underground room. She snatched up the crowbar she found leaning against the wall, and she went for the first crate she saw.

"Help me, Levi," she grunted, trying to hold the torch and pry the crate open at the same time.

"Here, give the crowbar to me," he suggested. "You hold the torch."

Hange nodded and traded with him. The captain got the lid open on the first crate, and he reached in to push aside sawdust and wood chips. "Found something," he muttered, and he withdrew a set of pairing blades secured together with rope. He glanced up at Hange, and he pushed aside more of the insulating particles to have a better look.

"Huh. I'll be damned," he stated. "It's fully stocked."

Hange could have clapped with glee, if her right hand weren't occupied holding the torch. "Let's check the other crates!"

They went through every crate in the cellar, finding a generous amount of ODM gear parts, firearms, ammunition and even dried field rations. It was like Christmas.

"Whoohoo," crowed Hange in triumph. "I don't want to say I told you so, but _I told you so_!"

"All right," he conceded. "We got lucky with this one. Your hunch was right. Happy?"

"Ecstatic." Hange retrieved her notebook from an inner pocket of her fur-lined coat. Fortunately, she'd had the foresight to pack four of them for this endeavor just in case. She was never happier to have pre-planned than she was right now. "Okay, let's take inventory, and then we can check the upper levels of the tower to see if there's anymore. We may just get home in time for dinner, if we're quick about it."

* * *

Unfortunately there was no money cache to be found in the tower. Hange suspected that it had already been collected by the military and the record was just lost. Still, she was happy with what they _did_ find. At least they had a hefty supply stock to add to their stores, and every little bit helped. There was no telling when the enemy might come back for another go at them, and she was determined to be ready for them if they did. If luck was with them, they would have the remaining titans within the walls cleared out, the breach in Wall Maria sealed tight and a fleet of ships ready to go before the people across the ocean attempted to invade again.

Hange and Levi returned to Trost just after dark, and Hange immediately started outlining a retrieval mission to collect their findings within the week. With Levi's advisement, she put together a solid team for the job, and she was confident that with her instructions, they wouldn't have any trouble finding and transporting the cache back to headquarters.

Hange slept hard that night, cozy in her own bed again. She had some rather vivid dreams as well, and come the morning when she woke up, she reviewed her dreams and arrived at an indisputable conclusion.

She'd gone for too long without getting laid.

* * *

"I had a dream about you last night," Hange stated conversationally as she sat down to breakfast with Levi. Nobody was currently in the mess hall except the two of them. They were having a late breakfast and all of the other soldiers had started their daily duties. Some of the 104th survivors were leaving as they spoke on the retrieval mission, led by Jean Kirstein. It was the perfect opportunity to make her move.

"What sort of dream?" Levi didn't sound particularly interested. He was stirring some honey into his morning tea, and his attention was focused on that.

"A dirty one."

Levi stopped stirring abruptly, and his gaze snapped up from the cup he was doctoring. He looked at her suspiciously. "What were we doing, rolling around in the mud?"

Hange worried her lower lip with her teeth. This could be a big mistake on her part. She was willing to chance it, though. "Not _that_ kind of dirty, grump. The metaphorical kind."

His eyes briefly widened, ever so slightly. The lids drooped again immediately, making Hange question whether she'd just imagined the reaction. "Explain just what the 'metaphorical kind' entails, Hange."

She faltered a bit, wondering if this was a mistake on her part. Levi was all she had left of her veteran family. Did she have the right to jeopardize the trust and friendship between them just to satisfy an itch? After all, she'd managed to fight by his side for this long without letting her appreciation for his form develop into inappropriate feelings.

But damn, Hange got lonely. She didn't even have her titan subjects to keep her company and occupy her mind, these days. Backwards engineering the technology they'd discovered and inventing new weaponry only stretched so far to satisfy restlessness. It wasn't the same as having a man warming her bed.

"Are you gonna tell me or not?"

She met Levi's impatient gaze, and she bit her lip again. "I don't know if I should, now."

The captain sighed. "Fucking tease. I'll admit you stirred up some curiosity. Thanks for wasting my time."

He started to get up, and Hange reached out to grab his wrist. "Wait! L-Levi, just give me a second. This isn't something I normally do."

He paused, cocked his head slightly to the side and then sat down again. "I've heard all kinds of crazy shit from you, four eyes. You shouldn't be afraid to tell me anything."

"You've never heard anything like this," she muttered. Hange shrugged. Might as well go for broke and deal with the aftermath as best she could, because she knew it was just going to drive her mad if she didn't get it off her chest. "Okay, here it is: last night I had a dream that you were in my bed wearing nothing but your cravat, your open shirt and your boots. I don't think I need to describe what we got up to when I came in and found you like that."

Levi stared blankly at her. He didn't move or speak, and after several moments, Hange started to fidget and blush. "Well? Go ahead and lay it on me, grump. Tell me what a pervert I am and get it over with."

He still didn't speak. He just kept staring at her. Hange's face heated further, and she wished she hadn't said anything. "I probably had the dream because we shared body warmth the night we had to stay in the shack," she excused, breaking into a sweat. "Plus, I haven't been with a man in ages. It's not a big deal. I just found it…interesting."

"Interesting how?" he finally asked, never taking his eyes off her.

"Well, for academic purposes," excused the commander. "You and I are like fire and ice, that much is clear. Still, we both have duties that keep us from pursuing certain…things that other people enjoy. A healthy sex life is one of the basic human needs, wouldn't you say? I shouldn't feel ashamed of having a dream like that. It's just my natural urges manifesting in my mind when I sleep."

"I guess you could put it that way," agreed Levi. "So why are you telling me about this?"

Hange took a deep breath. He wasn't getting the message. She was going to have to spell it out for him. The titan expert doubted her face had ever been this red before. "I'm telling you because it might be in our best interest to get it out of our system. I know you're suffering some restlessness too, Levi."

His lids drooped further. "So you're suggesting we fuck?"

"Think of it as a birthday present for me." Hange snapped her mouth shut as soon as she said it, and her eye went round. She put her face in her hands and shook her head. "No, I didn't mean it like that. Fuck, how low can I sink?"

She peeked through her fingers at her companion. Levi didn't appear to be judging her at all. In fact, he had a calculating look about him, a thoughtful gleam in his eyes as though he were weighing the pros and cons.

"That's what you want for your birthday?" he murmured.

He made it sound like she'd asked him for a cake. It was humiliating. "Forget I said it, okay? My imagination got ahead of me and I wasn't thinking straight."

Hange got up and left without clearing her plate or finishing her breakfast. Mortified, she went to her lab without a second look back. She didn't want to see the disgusted look on her captain's face or hear any more of his sarcastic comments. She wished she had a hole she could crawl into and hide for the next few days. Maybe more weapons research would clear her mind.

* * *

Hange hid away for the rest of the day. Her birthday was tomorrow, but she'd ruined it for herself by putting Levi in an uncomfortable position. So much for the two of them sharing a bottle and getting plastered together—or to be more accurate, Hange getting plastered and Levi carrying or dragging her off to her quarters to sleep it off. She didn't know how she was even going to look her friend in the face again, after what she'd said to him.

Sighing dejectedly, Hange decided to call it an early night. It was a thing she almost never did. Once she got on a roll with something, she could usually keep at it for hours on end. Not so, this time. She was so depressed that not even science could cheer her up. She missed having Moblit lecture her about getting some rest before she wore herself out. She missed Erwin's brilliant plotting and his quirky sense of humor. She missed Mike laughing through his nose and freaking people out by sniffing at them. She missed Nanaba's straightforward way of talking and her dry humor.

Most of all, she missed Levi giving her a hard time and spouting off profanities as casually as other people discussed the weather. Now she didn't know if things could ever be the same between the two of them again. She may very well have wrecked their friendship by dragging it into a place she shouldn't have.

"Happy birthday to me," sighed Hange. She put away all of her gadgets and notes, locked up her cabinet and retreated from her lab to go to her quarters. She saw a few scouts milling around on her way, and she greeted them briefly in passing. When she made it to her sleeping quarters and opened her door, she was treated to a huge shock.

There on her bed was Levi. He was sitting up with his back resting against the headboard. He looked just like he had in her dream; wearing only his uniform boots, his cravat and his shirt unbuttoned and hanging open. He was reading a book, one knee bent in a relaxed position. He'd put a towel over the bedding where his feet rested, probably to avoid getting the sheets dirty. He looked up at her as she walked through the door and stood there staring at him in bewilderment.

"Is this what you had in mind?" asked the captain.

Hange's face burned as her eyes settled on his partial nudity. His groin was in repose currently, his length resting soft between his legs, pink-tipped and oddly cute. His chest rose and fell slowly, calmly. His pewter gaze was lazy on her, giving nothing of his thoughts away.

Hange pinched herself on the arm.

"Close the door, would you?" Levi suggested. "And don't just stand there gawking. You asked for this, remember?"

Flustered, Hange started to sputter as she closed the door. "I didn't...I mean you...are you serious, Levi? Y-you don't have to—"

"I wouldn't be here if I thought you were issuing an order to me," Levi said sternly. "You made a proposal and you left it up to me to decide whether to agree to it or not. What does my presence here tell you, Hange?"

She had her back turned to him, and she stared at the handle of the door, twisting the lock in place. She turned slightly to look at him, uncertainty painted all over her hawkish features. "I was being impulsive. I wasn't expecting you to actually show up like this in my room."

Levi shrugged, and he put his book down. "I can leave."

"No!" Hange backed up against the door to block it. "No, don't leave. You just took me by surprise." Her gaze roamed over him helplessly. Hot damn, he was put together nicely. Definitely not her usual drink of water but why the hell should she keep depriving herself? The best part was they were friends, and this was a mutually beneficial arrangement. If they could come up with a sound plan for how to handle this, perhaps both their lives could be enriched.

"So you want me to stay." He didn't phrase it like a question, more of a statement. His eyes were inquiring, though.

"Yes." Hange took a deep breath, put a hand over her heart to try and calm her pulse. "But tell me, are you only doing this for my benefit, Levi? Is it something you really want, or..."

"Tch. You think I'm pimping myself out to you 'cause you're my commander? No, I've got needs too. I did some thinking after breakfast, and you're right; we're both adults, we don't know how much longer we've got to live and there's no reason why we shouldn't seek out some basic human pleasures while we're still here. So unless you're losing your nerve, get over here."

Hange's mouth started to feel as dry as cotton. It was all well and good to speak boldly. She was very good at that. She was also good at acting on her words when it came to just about anything except this. Sex had always been a bit awkward for her, at least until she got warmed up. Those first few moments of exploration and bashfulness had ever been her downfall unless she was under the influence of alcohol.

Knowing that she stood to lose this opportunity if she hesitated too much more, the commander approached her bed slowly. She removed her jacket, locking eyes with her captain and searching for any signal that he wasn't as resolved to this as he let on. Levi stayed where he was, watching her quietly. When she sat down on the edge of the bed and started to unbutton her shirt, he stopped her.

"I've got some conditions, before we get started."

Hange paused. "Yes?"

He glanced off to the side, and Hange followed his gaze to discover that there was a brush and a comb sitting on the mattress beside him that she hadn't noticed before. "One is that you take that mop down and let me brush it out. I can tell you've at least washed it today, so that scratches out another demand I was going to issue. Still, if we're going to do this on a regular basis, I want you to bathe before each encounter. Agreed?"

"Oh. Um, okay." Hange reached up and back to work her hair free of the ponytail. "What else?"

"Lose the eyepatch," he went on. "You can wear your glasses 'cause I know you can't see far without them, but you don't need the patch when you're with me. I want to see your whole face."

A thrill went through her. Granted, it wasn't exactly the romantic statement of the year, but if he wanted to see her entire face, that meant that he found her at least a little attractive. "O-okay."

"Why are you acting so nervous?" Levi tilted his head, studying her shrewdly. "After all the commentary about my junk and the way you just came right out with your proposal at breakfast, I find it pretty strange that you're acting like a maiden all the sudden."

Hange went still, and she began to laugh huskily. Shaking her head, she finished tugging her hair free of the ponytail. "You know shrimp, I was just wondering the same thing myself. I'm a compulsive talker as you've probably noticed, but when it comes to this kind of action, I need to gain some momentum before I feel confident. What about _you_ , though? You were so shy and uncomfortable when I talked about your...ahem...assets. Now you're calmly discussing having sex like it's a business arrangement."

She boldly let her gaze roam over his body again, and she noticed that his cock began to swell under her scrutiny. So, an appreciative gaze excited the little terror. She thought that she probably should stop using the adjective "little" to describe Levi, though. It certainly wasn't accurate in the case of his endowments, at any rate.

"If I don't think of it like a business arrangement," Levi explained softly, "then I might lose my gumption. I suck at romance, shitty-glasses. Haven't had a girlfriend my whole life, just touch and go encounters here and there, with no emotional connection to them. That brings me to my final condition. This stays between us. When we're in public, we need to interact the same way we always have. Outside the bedroom, our relationship is commander and captain, and we can't let this interfere with that. We've got an obligation to our soldiers. Like it or not, we're basically those kids' guardians as well as their superiors. We need to keep them focused on the mission, not gossiping about us banging each other."

Hange nodded, taking no offence to his desire to keep it a secret. "That seems reasonable and prudent to me. Besides, it might traumatize the little darlings to find out their commanding officers are having an affair. As you say, we're also their foster parents in a way, and most kids don't like to think of 'old' people like us having sex."

"Exactly," agreed Levi. "Besides, I don't want those brats knowing my personal business anyhow."

Again, Hange nodded. She couldn't think of anything more to say. She swallowed her nervousness, and she scooted closer when he motioned to her. Levi had her turn around and sit between his spread legs.

"What are you doing?" he demanded when she placed her hands on his bare knees, then dropped them into her lap and twisted them together. "You can touch me. I'm not going to bite...hard."

Embarrassed to be so girlishly uncertain, Hange rested her hands on his knees again...gingerly. Levi took her glasses off of her face, along with the eye patch. Hange supposed he wanted them both off so that they wouldn't interfere with the hair brushing. She tensed involuntarily when she felt the first careful stroke of the brush in her hair. Levi started at the ends, to Hange's surprised. He pulled the bristles through her tangles with short, light strokes. While there were plenty of snags, the way Levi was nursing them didn't hurt at all. It actually felt good. She closed her eyes impulsively as he steadily and patiently worked the brush through her hair from tips to roots.

Her scalp tingled pleasantly, and Hange pondered quietly over the intimacy of it all. It was strangely sensual, and yet there was something more to it. The commander experienced a feeling of warmth and relaxation. Somehow being groomed by Levi made her feel...safe.

"This is nice," she remarked softly, opening her eyes a slit. "Feels good. I was expecting a lot of painful tugging."

"There would have been, if you hadn't conditioned your hair when you washed it," he answered. "Well done. What did you use?'

"That tea hair butter you shoved at me last night." Hange smirked. "I figured it couldn't hurt. Still though, I know my hair was badly tangled when you started."

"You just have to know how to brush it right," answered the captain. "Don't ever start at the root and brush down with hair this length; you'll rip it and make more tangles. Always start at the ends and work your way up."

Hange frowned a bit. It made perfect sense, but since when was Levi an expert on caring for long hair? "Did you learn that from an ex lover, or did you have longer hair back in the day before Erwin recruited you?"

"Neither. I've always worn my hair in this undercut. I can't stand having my hair touching the back of my neck."

"Oh." Hange struggled against an unreasonable pang of jealousy. "So it was a girlfriend that taught you."

"I just said that wasn't it," he groused. "Pay attention."

"Then how did you learn this trick?" she persisted.

He was silent for a moment, and then he spoke softly. "When I was a kid, I used to brush my mother's hair. She had really long, pretty black hair. It fell all the way to her waist, so she couldn't get all of the tangles out on her own very easily. I'd help her every morning and brush it 'till it was soft as silk and as shiny as satin."

Hange was sorry she'd brought it up. Thinking about his mother wasn't exactly the ideal mindset for Levi to be in right now, and she hoped she hadn't depressed him by bringing it up. "I didn't mean to dredge up painful memories, Levi."

"It's okay." He kept brushing her hair with smooth, even strokes. Most of the tangles were gone now, but he seemed content to keep going for a while. "That's actually one of the better memories I have of my childhood. Hey Hange, you're hair is in pretty good shape. Not bad at all. If you'd trim the frayed ends off and take better care of it, I'll bet it would be really pretty."

Hange blushed, and she smiled quietly. "You think so?"

"Yeah. Just wash it at least three times a week, use that conditioner I gave you and brush it every day. There's no excuse not to, especially since you're setting an example for people as our commander."

"I've never been very good at primping," she sighed.

"I didn't say you've got to look pristine and immaculate," corrected Levi. "Just practice more basic hygiene. You smell nice when you're not caked with dirt, sweat and chemicals."

It as possibly the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to Hange—which sadly lent testimony as to what sort of relationships she generally had with men. She twisted the top half of her body around slowly, reaching for his wrist to stop his attentions on her hair. Leaning closer to him so that she could see his face more clearly, she stared into his eyes. There was no better time than the present to express her appreciation for him. Hange closed the distance between their mouths, and she eased the brush out of his grip as she kissed him.

The captain's lips parted, and Hange immediately took the initiative. If he was surprised when her tongue slid into his mouth, he didn't express it. He cupped the back of her head and threaded his fingers through her now supple, tangle-free hair. His tongue caressed hers, almost hesitant at first, and then with greater enthusiasm. The press of their lips against each other intensified, and the kiss got sloppier.

It was good. It was almost _too_ good. Hange could think of only one other guy that made her pulse race when he kissed her, and even that wasn't much in comparison to this moment. Levi had a way with his lips and tongue that was positively erotic. He scraped his teeth lightly against the surface of Hange's tongue, he sucked on it, he nibbled her lips. His own tongue darted into her mouth in brief intervals, tickling the roof of it and tracing her teeth before retreating, silently inviting her to dominate the kiss again.

Captain Cranky was turning out to be the most sensual kisser that Hange had ever had the pleasure of sampling. He pushed her uniform jacket down over her shoulders, and she pulled her arms out of the sleeves, turning around completely and getting on her knees between his parted thighs. While he worked on helping her undress her top half, Hange focused on getting her boots off. Their mouths stayed connected all the while, worshiping each other.

There were still some slivers of doubt in her mind, still some uncertainties that she couldn't quite stifle. This moment, however...this opportunity wasn't likely to duplicate itself if she backed out now. Hange knew that if she expressed any further hesitation, Levi would bring it to a full stop and never initiate or allow this kind of interaction again. He was a decisive sort of person who hated indecisive behavior. He let people know exactly where they stood with him, and he expected others to return the favor.

Hange's shirt came open, and the cool air pricked her skin and made her nipples go erect. Levi cupped her right breast in his palm, covering most of it with his hand before fondling it slowly. Lust churned within the commander's belly, spreading out and pooling in her pelvic area, leaving her feeling swollen and moist between her legs. It was an interesting reaction, Hange thought. Usually it took a bit more playing around before her proverbial juices really started flowing. Maybe she'd just gone without for so long that she was simply deprived...or maybe she'd been harboring a stronger attraction for her grumpy captain than she'd realized.

With the pulses of lust came the return of Hange's adventurous nature. "Levi, wait," she gasped, putting a hand over the one caressing her breast.

He stopped immediately, pulled back and stared into her eyes, piercing her with that intense gaze of his. "You aren't having second thoughts now, are you?"

"No," she said firmly, giving a shake of her head. "I just...let me explore. I want to touch it."

She left no confusion over what 'it' was, sliding one hand up from Levi's knee along his inner thigh. Levi held still but for his hand, which resumed fondling her breast. His lids drooped a bit when Hange reached her goal and encircled his cock in her grip.

"It's been a while," she informed with a smirk. She began to pump her hand slowly along the length, watching him with a scientist's curiosity to gauge his responses. Levi wasn't the most expressive man in the world for certain, but even he wasn't immune to the pleasure of having his goods handled. His mouth relaxed and parted slightly, his breath sighing out between his lips. Gaining confidence, Hange braced her free hand against the mattress on the captain's left side, and she leaned in to pepper his jaw with soft little kisses. He was warm in her encompassing grip, firming up steadily as she worked her fist up and down the shaft.

It wasn't a new experience for her by a long shot, and yet it _felt_ new...possibly because it was Levi Ackerman she was fondling—someone Hange never consciously aspired to be with this way until recently. It still felt surreal to her, this kind of sexual interaction with him. She supposed that if she'd met Levi under different circumstances like in a tavern or the marketplace, she would have gone for it much sooner. He wasn't just some cute guy she'd met in passing, though. He was her comrade, her confidant. Something about this encounter felt taboo to her, and that of course only made it more exciting.

Levi's breath caught when Hange boldly rolled his foreskin down with her thumb and pressed a fingernail lightly into the sensitive slit crowning the head of his cock. He bowed his head, his dark hair brushing against her cheek. He gave her breast an impulsive little squeeze, pinching her nipple gently between thumb and forefinger. His pelvis lifted a touch, pushing into her grip.

"You like that?" Hange smiled at him, her skin heating as blood vessels constricted with her quickening pulse. She rubbed the spot, drawing moisture from the tiny opening and provoking a subtle shiver through his pale, ripped little body.

Levi didn't confirm her question with words. Instead, he cupped the back of her head to guide her lips to his, pressing their mouths together. His tongue lanced in, decidedly more vigorous in its activity than before. A faint sound arose in his throat, and his body tensed and shuddered again when Hange tickled his urethra with her fingernail again. He stiffened completely in her grasp, throbbing against her palm and fingers.

Levi evidently liked to be handled with a bit of intensity; perhaps some roughness, as well. More than happy to provide that, Hange scraped her teeth against his probing tongue, and she gripped him a little tighter. She started pumping her hand faster along his shaft, and she broke the kiss to make her way down his body. His chest expanded and contracted faster, and his fingers tangled into her hair when the commander paused at his nipples to pinch the right one between her teeth and flick her tongue against it. Hange felt Levi's flesh pebble under the assault when she took her hand off the mattress to squeeze his left thigh.

"Nnnh," came Levi's incoherent response to her actions.

It was the first real sound of pleasure Hange had gotten from him so far, and it made her grin a little. She thumbed his foreskin back and forth over the glans, and Levi's fingers tightened in her hair. His stomach tightened, the knots of muscles bunching and quivering slightly. Hange released Levi's nipple and licked delicately around it, shimmying back a little to give herself more room. She kissed his navel, and she pushed his thighs further apart. Glancing up the length of his body at him, she saw Levi watching her with vaguely curious, heavy-lidded eyes. He loosened his hold on her hair, and the heel of his left boot pressed into the small of her back, silently urgent.

Hange rubbed her chin against the glistening tip of his cock, enjoying the smoothly tactile sensation of the flushed, bulbous head of it pressing and gliding along her skin. She tucked her chin in, lowered her mouth to that beaconing flesh awaiting her. She stared at it for a moment, fascinated as always with the physiology of male genitals.

"If you think about it," Hange murmured, "the male penis really is a strange looking thing."

"Seriously?" Levi's breathing was labored, but he managed to sound composed all the same...and a little irritated. "We're getting ready to fuck for the first time and that's your idea of pillow talk; telling me my junk looks weird?"

"No, your 'junk' looks fine," Hange hastened to correct. "I just meant that the male genitals are strange looking in general. That isn't a bad thing. In fact, I think this fellow is a handsome specimen."

"Oi, stop patting the tip of it like a dog's head," snapped Levi, flushing.

Hange stopped herself from adoring Levi's stiffened length in such a manner. He'd never completely acclimated to her tendencies to dote on things that enthralled her. "You shouldn't feel self-conscious, Levi. I was just loving on it."

"That's not the way you're supposed to 'love on' a dick," he protested, still blushing. "You act like you're about to try and play fetch with it or something."

Hange snorted helplessly with amusement, and she covered her mouth with a hand to muffle the follow-up snickering. "Ah, right. The correct way to love on a dick is to give it a kiss, yes?"

Levi's hard expression of annoyance softened, and Hange saw his Adam's apple bob with a swallow. "That's a good way to start, yeah."

She had him right where she wanted him, Hange realized. Not even Levi was immune to lust and want. This was probably the most vulnerable she'd ever seen him. Perhaps it wasn't fair for her to do so, but Hange felt a powerful need to tease him a bit. She looked down at his beckoning length again, and she lowered her head to place a soft kiss directly on the shiny, flushed tip.

Levi jerked a little bit, grunting softly in response to the sensation. Hange squeezed her hand around the girth of his cock, and she stroked his inner thigh with her other hand. She heard his breath rattle in his chest as she swirled her tongue around the knob, and she flicked it against the tender pinhole of his urethra.

"Fuck," gasped Levi, twitching in her grip. His thighs tensed, and he sat up a little straighter.

"Sensitive?" guessed Hange with a grin. It seemed that while Levi was quite tolerant to pain, pleasure was another matter entirely.

"What was your...first clue?"

Hange looked up at his face as she ran the tip of her tongue under the ridge of his glans, wanting to see every micro-expression that crossed his face. His eyes went blank, and his fingers tightened in he hair again. It was very erotic to her, seeing his composure steadily trickling away as she teased his receptive flesh. She wanted more. She kept a firm grip on his length, and she closed her lips around the head of his cock, giving it a suck. Levi's abs tensed to hard knots, and his nostrils flared briefly. His lips rounded and he blew out an unsteady breath. Hange urged him to spread his legs even wider, and then she cupped the sack beneath his erection, rolling the firm lumps of his balls in her palm.

"Shit," gasped Levi, pale gaze becoming masked as his lids fell shut. He let go of her hair and grabbed handfuls of the bedding.

Having discovered another weakness, the titan expert exploited it mercilessly. She took more of his length into her mouth, sucking firmly and curling her tongue around the girth of it. She licked at the big vein on the underside as she started bobbing her head, and she squeezed his balls rhythmically. He had a distinctive taste, she realized. His precum wasn't as salty as expected, and maybe Hange was imagining it, but she could have sworn there was a hint of...what? Tea flavoring? It would make sense, as much as Levi drank the stuff. In fact, Hange found it to be a refreshing change from the more potent salty bitterness she was accustomed to.

"Mmm," she purred, working her mouth faster. Levi was starting to tremble under the assault. Hange reached up with one hand to play with his nipples one at a time, and the captain began to pant rapidly.

"Hange," warned Levi breathlessly, "I'm gonna come."

Ah, this was the crossroad she had been anticipating, and it left her with a choice. Keep sucking him off until he reached arrival, or stop and save it for the grand finale? She was fairly confident that she could get him up again with a bit of patience and care if she finished him off with her mouth, so the commander chose to keep going.

"Nnh...hah...y-you're better at this...than I expected," announced Levi in a strained voice. "I'm serious Hange...keep it up and I'll blow my load."

She didn't heed his warning. The messy slurping sounds got louder as she strove to drive Levi over the edge. He managed to hold off for perhaps two minutes more, and then he groaned throatily and lifted his hips off the mattress. His length pushed deep, and Hange relaxed her throat to take it all in. She nearly gagged in fact, because he was bigger than what she was used to. Somehow she controlled the reflex and swallowed as he pulsed in her throat.

Hange didn't quite manage to swallow all of his spunk because it came out so rapidly and there was quite a bit of it. Some of it trickled out from the corners of her mouth, but she didn't mind that. As suspected, his cum wasn't terribly unpleasant to the tongue. Still salty and a little bitter, yes, but decidedly more tolerable than others.

She wiped her mouth off with her arm after releasing his softening length, and she crawled on top of him, stretching out full length over his body. Hange combed her hair to one side with her fingers and she smiled down at the winded captain, admiring the flush in his face and his unguarded expression of relief. Guessing he wouldn't want her kissing him on the mouth after swallowing, she chose instead to kiss his chin and jaw.

"Not bad for a science geek, huh?" She kissed his throat, and then reared back again to look at him. "You look surprised, Levi."

He didn't deny it. "What the hell do you do, practice on fruits and vegetables?"

She chuckled, toying with the cravat around his throat with her fingers. "I _have_ had lovers before, grump. Is that so inconceivable to you?"

Levi shrugged, still breathing heavily. "I guess I've just always thought your science turned you on more than men. It didn't occur to me that you'd ever make the time to have sex with people. Figured you just rubbed it out when and if the mood ever struck you."

"Hmm, I guess that's fair enough," she conceded. "To be honest, that's largely what I've been doing for the past year." She didn't mention the little oopsie she had with Moblit. Breaking her promise to the man never to speak of it would have been disrespectful of his memory; even if it was Captain Levi she shared it with.

Levi met her eyes silently, his expression thoughtful. He slid a hand down between their bodies, and Hange jumped a little when he slipped his fingers between her thighs and thumbed her clit.

"Well, I'm down for the count for now," he murmured, "so I've got to rely on other ways to get you off until I recover. You okay with that, or what?"

"That's...oh...th-that's fine," she agreed. Damn, she had to give the little terror credit for the ease at which he found that spot. It was like he had some kind of homing device. Most guys, in her experience, had to feel around a bit before they located that tiny nub.

"What about you?" Hange gasped, parting her thighs to give him better access.

"What do you mean?" Levi rubbed her clit in little circles, creating jolts of sensation.

"I mean...your uncanny knack for going straight for the gold," she clarified. She nibbled his ear, breathing heavily into it. "You went straight for it without any hesitation."

"I just know my anatomy," he excused. "Blame it on the way I grew up. I got to know the human body pretty damned well by the time I was a teenager."

She hadn't considered that. She kept forgetting that Levi spent most of his life in the underground and didn't see much of the surface world until Erwin blackmailed him into joining the scouts. She'd never asked him for details about what kind of shady dealings he'd been involved with while trying to survive in that place, and it made sense that he would be somewhat of an expert at anatomy. After all, if he had to kill to survive most of the time, he would have needed to study the human body and all of its weaknesses. Hange's respect for him grew even more.

And he'd been so upset when he found out that the titans he'd been slaughtering were once human beings. It made more sense to her now. Levi probably had to stoop to murder more than once in his youth, and he probably thought that kind of living was behind him when he joined the scouts. It must have been a hard blow for him to discover that the titans weren't just simple monsters as he'd thought. Levi was the sort of man that would be ruthless and without mercy if he had to, but Hange knew he wasn't a stone cold killer. He had feelings like everyone else, and morals.

"I'm so sorry, Levi."

His brows scrunched up, and he stared up at her like she was mad. "For what? Making me come? Don't be stupid; I'll get my second wind back."

"No, I meant...never mind."

It would just spoil the mood if she brought up that discovery about the titans right now. She felt responsible for his angst, because she was after all the one to bring the evidence to him and Erwin once she had it to present. Hange wished she could have just left the captain in the dark, let him go on thinking he was just killing soulless monsters intent on devouring humanity. It was too late for that now, though. Levi would probably lecture her about harboring regrets over something she couldn't control if she went into that now.

"You say some weird, random shit, four eyes." Levi grunted, and he rolled over with her, pinning her down on the bed. "I don't know what's going through that crazed mind of yours right now, but focus on the moment, all right?"

She smiled up at him. Levi was right; now wasn't the time to be pondering regrets of the past. It was a miracle this was even happening between them, and so far their interactions were very promising, indeed. She was throbbing inside, ready and willing to be filled by him. She reached down to fondle his flaccid cock, again marveling at the length and girth of it even when soft.

"All right, Captain Dong."

Levi sighed and bowed his head, his dark bangs falling forward. "You've got to make a joke out of everything."

"It's in my nature," she excused. She lifted her head to run her tongue over the bulge of his right pectoral, and then she circled his nipple with the tip of it. "If I went through life taking everything as seriously as you do, I'd surely lose my mind. I'm just not wired that way, my dear. Oh!"

Hange's speech got interrupted when Levi put more pressure on her clit, and she jerked her hips, eyes rounding.

"Enough talking," husked Levi. He then surprised her by crushing his mouth against hers in an almost punishing kiss. His length throbbed in her grip, swelling a little. It seemed he was getting that second wind back sooner than anticipated. Nice.

One of Levi's fingers delved into her, pressing with unexpected gentleness and working it's way inside with care. Hange spread her legs wider, threading the fingers of her free hand through his hair. The shaved portion of his undercut felt interesting. The texture almost tickled her fingertips, and she found it pleasant. Levi migrated down, his muscles bunching and rolling as he scooted his body lower. Hange gasped when he took a nipple between his lips and sucked on it. Her back arched and her flesh pebbled from the sensation. He kept rubbing her clit with his thumb while thrusting and curling his finger inside of her.

Breath quickening, face heating with passion, Hange canted her hips encouragingly. One of her biggest complaints against lovers was that no matter how nicely shaped or endowed they were, they more often than not had no clue as to how to use their equipment to best please their partners. They tended to get so caught up in their own pleasure that they neglected hers, but so far, Levi was proving himself to be more attentive in that area.

Another exclamation of surprise burst from Hange's lips when Levi's finger thrust deep enough to press against a special little area inside of her, rubbing against the inner wall just behind her bladder. It caused a pulse and a thrill to go through her, and she tensed up with shock. The little bastard had found her g-spot. Only one other man had done that before, and he'd been older and more experienced than Hange's other partners.

"Ah...oh, Levi!"

"Found it, did I?" He sounded vaguely pleased with himself, and he kept stroking the spot. He switched his attention to her other nipple, licking and sucking at it while his fingers worked their magic on Hange's lower parts.

"Y-yes...you found it." She was getting very wet down there. She could feel the moisture collecting into thick droplets, catching on the hair framing her loins. She bit her lip when he entered her with a second finger and started scissoring, loosening her up. Hange couldn't reach his cock right now due to his position, but she could feel it swelling further against her thigh just above her knee.

"Levi, don't make me wait," she whined, becoming frustrated. She was getting so close, and nothing would please her more than to come while he was deep inside of her.

"Hold up," he ordered when she grabbed at his arms and attempted to hoist him back up. "I've got something we need to use."

At first she was incomprehensive, having no idea what the hell he was talking about. Then Levi stopped his ministrations, sat up on his knees between her spread thighs and reached for a box he'd put next to his forgotten book on the edge of the bed. His breath was faintly labored as he flipped the latch on the little wooden box, and for a wild moment, Hange thought he'd brought tea with him.

"Levi, now is _not_ the time to make a cup of tea," she protested.

He glanced at her, pausing for a second. "What the hell are you talking about? This isn't tea."

He opened the box and reached in to procure something wrapped in a small packet. When Hange saw it, she understood and she blushed with embarrassment. A condom. Levi had the foresight to bring protection—something Hange hadn't even considered. They weren't foolproof; a relatively new method of birth control through barrier protection. It was better than nothing though, and coupled with the contraceptive tonic she took each day, it would almost guarantee there wouldn't be an accident.

"Good call," she complimented, watching as he tore open the packet to get the thin sheath out. "Have you ever used one before?"

"No, but the guy at the drugstore told me how to put it on." Levi pinched the tip of it, and he started to roll it carefully onto his half-erect length. He grimaced a bit. "It's pretty tight."

"You should have asked for a bigger size." Hange sat up with a grunt to help him. "Oh Levi, I don't know about this. You aren't even fully erect yet and it's stretching a lot already."

"Well, we've got to try," he reasoned, "unless you want to risk having a baby. It'd be pretty tough for you to lead us with a pregnant belly."

"I'm on birth control," she assured him, carefully pushing her fingers over the unrolled portion of the condom to try and cover the rest of his cock with it. "Honestly, I think this condom was made for someone with minimal endowments, sweetheart. It's either going to break or cut off circulation, and I don't want your big, beautiful penis to get damaged."

"Don't be so dramatic," he grunted. A slight hiss sounded from him as she rolled the condom further up his length. "Damn...that's kind of painful..."

Hange shook her head, even more convinced that this wasn't a good idea. "Levi, I really think—oh!"

The condom snapped, breaking open. Levi's swelling flesh bulged from the hole torn through the elastic material. He looked down at it with an inquisitively raised brow, and he sighed. "Well, shit. 'One size fits all' my ass."

Hange quickly worked to get the offending item off of her companion's length. "It's okay, Levi. You tried."

He seemed especially annoyed. "I guess I can just get you off with my hands and mouth. I'm not leaving you unsatisfied."

Hange blinked at him. Was he really _that_ concerned that he'd get her into trouble? It made her wonder if Levi had actually fathered a child or two that he hadn't yet mentioned to her. "Levi, we don't have to alter our plans. I want this, and I'm not going to let some flimsy little sheepskin barrier decide whether we do it or not."

He gave her a vaguely wary look. "I want it too, but I don't want to get you in trouble, either."

"You won't," she assured him. "I make my own contraceptives and I've supplied other women in our regiment with them as well. There hasn't been one incident of unplanned pregnancy yet for anyone that's used my tonic as prescribed."

"But given our luck, we'd be the first," he grumbled.

Hange sighed. "Levi, what did you do to prevent pregnancy with all of your previous lovers? It's obvious to me that you know your way around a woman's body, so I don't believe you lack sexual experience. What methods did you use before these condoms got so popular?"

He glanced aside, appearing uncomfortable with the line of questioning. "I made sure most of them were on some kind of contraceptive. Mostly I'd pull out before I finished. Sometimes we'd...do anal."

"Oh." Hange blinked. Anal was certainly a fail-proof way to do it without conceiving, but that was one thing she had zero experience in. She supposed they could explore that avenue at some point, but she really didn't want her first time with Levi to be something that was bound to take getting used to and was likely to be painful at first.

"Well, you could pull out with me. Frankly I don't think it's really necessary, but if it will make you feel safer, do it. I'm not giving up this encounter, short stuff. I've been without a man for too long and to tell you the truth, I'm dying to see what you can do with this guy."

Hange reached down and squeezed his cock for emphasis. It twitched in her hand, firming up more. Levi's breath caught slightly, and he exhaled slowly.

"You're sure about this?" he asked softly.

Hange nodded. "Absolutely. I'm not willing to compromise, in fact."

To prove her point, Hange squirmed into position to straddle him. She shushed him when Levi started to protest, and she lined up his cock until she felt the tip pressing against her entrance. Holding his gaze, she eased down on it. Levi's pupils expanded and his hands settled on her hips. His mouth parted, and a low sound of need erupted from his throat. Biting her lower lip, Hange kept going, consciously relaxing her inner muscles to accommodate his girth. When she was fully seated and his length was impaling her balls-deep, she sighed with relief and smiled at him.

"There," she droned in satisfaction. She put her arms around his neck, and she brushed the tip of her nose against his. "Isn't that better?"

"Much," he agreed tightly. His hands meandered around to her ass to give it a squeeze. "Careful though; it's been a long time. I've got self control but I'm not sure how much."

Thrilled by that statement, Hange started to propel her hips. She gasped at the feel of him sliding back and forth inside of her, stretching her almost painfully. Levi cursed, and his fingertips dug into her ass. The chords in his neck stood out as his body tensed, and his breath huffed. He started to thrust—slowly at first and then picking up speed.

"D-damn it, shitty glasses," Levi panted. His eyes seemed to blaze at her. "I...I warned you..."

"Apparently I'm not good at listening to war... _nings_!" The last part of her statement came out almost as a shriek, because Levi jacknifed from his position, rolled her onto her back and started pounding into her. Hange's mind went blank and her vision blurred. She hadn't anticipated this desperate, animalistic aggression from him...and she loved it.

"Levi...oh fuck, you little...son of a _bitch_!" Hange grabbed at him, raking her chipped fingernails over his tense back and feeling the tight muscles beneath his abused, pale skin. He was panting hard and heavy into her ear. His pelvis smacked between her thighs, and his hands squeezed fistfulls of the sheets on either side of her head. His low, primal grunts sounded in her ear and she realized with a spark of intuition that she'd truly shaken his composure to the core.

"Easy," gasped Hange. She cupped Levi's face in both hands, forcing him to lift his head and look at her. Not that she wasn't enjoying getting rammed with so much passion, but common sense still had some small place in her mind. If she didn't calm him down, he could truly hurt her completely by accident.

"Levi, slow down. Look at me, sweetheart."

By some miracle, her breathless order reached the part of his brain that wasn't overcome by lust. That blank expression left his face, softening a bit into something akin to regret. He shuddered, and he stilled above her. The captain bowed his head, burying his face between her breasts and gasping raggedly.

"Shit. Sorry."

Hange stroked his hair, trying to calm her own racing pulse while reigning him in at the same time. "It's okay. Just take a minute. You haven't hurt me yet...well, not really."

"That was unacceptable," he wheezed. "I've never lost my shit like that before."

Hange grinned wildly, and she kissed the crown of his head. "Then I'll take it as a compliment. I managed to get you that worked up. No small feat, given you're a man of few expressed emotions."

"Do you want to end up in the infirmary?" Levi lifted his head and gazed down at her, completely serious. "I could have really fucked you up, Hange."

She sobered, completely believing him. She combed his bangs out of his eyes, and then she traced his sculpted features with her fingertips. "I know that. You've got the endowments and the strength to hospitalize me if you lose complete control of yourself, but you _didn't_. You stopped when I asked you to. Differences aside, I know you would never, ever hurt me on purpose, tiny captain. Damn, I really need to stop using the word 'tiny' for you. It's so inaccurate."

He shook his head slowly, exhaling in a manner that suggested he was still working on cooling his libido. "I don't know what the fuck I'm gonna do with you."

She laughed huskily. "The answer is in the question, grumpy. Just do it a little slower, okay?"

"Yeah." He started to move again, holding her gaze. This time, he was gentle about it. His cock glided smoothly in, then withdrew and returned. The lines of stress eased from Levi's face, and to Hange, he looked so young in that moment that it was startling. Frankly, he was beautiful to her.

"Better?" Levi asked softly.

Hange kept staring at him, and she stroked the toned expanse of his chest with her hands. "Yes. Much better. Good boy."

Levi didn't express any annoyance over her calling him a "good boy", but sex tended to distract even the most focused of men. He kept the slow pace for a while, and he lowered his head to give Hange a lingering kiss. There was something sweet about the whole thing. That kiss seemed to have an apology behind it that spoke more eloquently than words. For all his crotchety mannerisms, Levi had his kind moments.

"Mmm," Hange purred against his lips, matching the rocking motions of his pelvis. Yes, this was much better. She could take the time to appreciate the way he felt inside of her, now that he wasn't frantically hammering her. He was angling his thrusts just right too, and she started to gasp sharply with every pump.

"Hurting you?" Levi asked. His face was tensing again. He was fighting himself.

"Not at all," promised the commander. "Harder, Levi. It's okay."

He hesitated. She caressed his face and stared into his uncertain gray eyes. "I swear that I'll tell you if you start hurting me. Don't hold back quite so much."

He nodded, took a deep breath and started thrusting a little harder. A groan broke free, and the pallor of his face gained a bloom of pink again. He was so damned cute when he blushed like that. Hange decided she had to make him do it more often. She gasped encouragement to him, wrapping her legs around his waist. So good. It was so damned good, and the care he was taking with her made it even better.

"Oh, sweetie," Hange groaned when he reached down to tickle her clit with his fingertips. "That's bitching good."

She hadn't meant for the statement to be comical, but against all odds, Levi expressed some subtle amusement.

"Heh. Colorful pillow talk."

Hange opened her eyes again and smirked up at him. "At least...you aren't trying to censor me. Oh, damn...right there, Levi. Ah...ahhh!"

She was coming. It happened before Hange could prepare for it, and she curled up beneath him and held him tightly. Pressing her face against his shoulder, she moaned shakenly. He kept his thrusts steady, kept thumbing her clit the way she liked it. Hange expelled a breath and made a strange sound that she actually hated, but she couldn't help the broken moan that surfaced.

"Whoo-woo-whoo-woo!"

To his credit, Levi didn't stop. He _did_ give her an inquisitive look, but he said nothing about her embarrassing orgasm noise. He even smirked at her a little, and she thought his eyes softened a bit. Maybe, just maybe, he found it endearing. She sure as shit hoped so, because if they were going to keep having encounters like this in the future, he'd be hearing a lot more of that from her.

Toes curling, Hange rode it out and collapsed back against the mattress when it ebbed off. Panting and grinning, she locked her ankles at the small of his back. He kissed her again, his tongue spearing in to toy with hers. He picked up his rhythm again, quickening his pace. His breath became ragged, his body tensing beneath her hold on him. Hange reached down to squeeze his ass, moaning throatily. She sensed that he was close, and she desperately wanted to feel him coming inside of her.

"That's it," she urged tightly. "You're so close, Levi. Don't hold back!"

"Ah, fuck," he rasped, lifting up again. His face tightened, his mouth parted and his eyes went blank.

He gave one last, powerful shove, burying himself deep inside of her. Then it happened, and Hange closed her eyes and reveled in the feeling of his cock pulsing inside of her. She smiled again, giddy with the experience. She gave his left butt cheek a little smack of approval, then rubbed both of the muscular, tense globes soothingly. Levi shuddered and collapsed on top of her, breathing raggedly.

"Didn't pull out," he gasped. "I was...supposed to pull out."

"It's okay," she assured him. "I told you that my contraceptives are very reliable, dear. I'll even take an extra dose once we've recovered, just to be sure."

"I hope it works as well as you say," he sighed.

He gave a couple of slow, gentle thrusts before his length went completely soft, and he withdrew from her. Hange released him from her embrace, and he eased his body off of her and lay on his side next to her. He glanced down with a grimace. "Shit, I kicked the towel off the bed."

Hange looked down as well, and she shrugged. "So what? Your boots can't possibly be that filthy and bedding can be washed. I'll take a little dirt from the soles of your boots on my bed if the result is orgasms like that, anytime."

Levi pillowed his head on his bent arm, staring at her. "You and I really aren't anything alike."

Hange snickered softly, and she reached out to loosen the cravat around his throat. "Thank goodness for that. If I wanted to sleep with myself, I would just buy a bigger mirror."

"You don't even _have_ a mirror," Levi pointed out. He glanced around the sparse room that Hange used as her sleeping quarters. "I've never met a woman that didn't have at least a hand mirror. No wonder your hair is so messy all the time."

Hange grumbled, but she wasn't really offended. She was used to Levi's digs by now. "What a way to enjoy the afterglow; insulting the person you just slept with. Your romance skills could use a bit of brushing up."

"Right. I'm supposed to spout poetry and shit." Levi gave her a lingering once-over. "You've got fantastic thighs and nice tits. Better?"

"Marginally," Hange chuckled. "I'm a little surprised you like my little bee stings, though. I wouldn't have to do much chest binding to pass for a male if I really wanted to."

"I like how they fit in my palms," he explained. "Just enough to fill them. I've never really been in to huge breasts. I'm more of a leg and ass guy."

Hange raised her brows. "Oh? What do you think of my ass, then? You haven't said yet."

"Roll over and put your back to me."

Unquestioningly, Hange did as requested. She started to blush as the moments ticked by without comment from Levi, and she jerked impulsively when his hand rubbed each cheek one at a time in little circles.

"Nice and firm," Levi informed her softly. "Smooth, too. I like your skin. Feels soft against my hands, despite your abysmal lack of care for it."

"Hey!" Hange looked over his shoulder at him. "Just because I don't slather my face with bat guano to make it up and cover it with creams every night doesn't mean I—"

"I'm just saying you've got good genetics to have such nice skin," he interrupted. "You should still take better care of it, though. These harness marks are rougher than they need to be." He traced the lines of said marks on her back, drawing a shiver from her. "You'd feel better for it if you used some moisturizer now and then."

Hange sighed, smirking ruefully. "I can't believe I'm getting beauty advice from a feces-obsessed, foul-mouthed man. This should be the sort of talk I'd have with a girlfriend."

"I'm just bringing it up because I give a shit about your health," he protested. "Basic hygiene isn't just for women."

"Well, I don't have any creams or special hair wash or makeup."

"You don't need makeup." Levi pressed up against her, and he mollified her with a kiss to her shoulder. "You're fine without it. I'm just encouraging you to take better care of yourself."

"That's...sweet," she murmured. "I never had a mother figure in my life to teach me any of this stuff, though."

"I did." Levi stroked a palm down her arm. "No father figure, but my mom taught me cleanliness. It was a necessity where I grew up. I can give you some shampoo and lotion, if you're willing to use it."

"Hmm."

She considered it. She could almost accuse him of trying to change her, but he wasn't asking her to alter her personality. He was just suggesting a slight change in hygienic habits. Was that really so unreasonable? After all, Levi was a clean fanatic, and he wasn't actually making a demand...merely a suggestion. Hange had never had a good reason to worry about her appearance before, but maybe she could do this one little thing for him. She could at least try to take better care of herself, and she did have the burden of appearance to uphold as the high commander of the Survey Corps.

"I suppose I can try it out," she said at last, shrugging. "It has practical value, after all. I can't have myself coming down sick because I'm always living like a slob, now that I think of it."

He seemed pleased by her acquiescence. "Then I'll bring you some basics tomorrow."

Hange smiled, and she rolled over to face him. He had to be uncomfortable in those boots, but he looked so sensual in them that she didn't suggest he remove them. Putting her arms around him, she snuggled up to him with a contented sigh.

* * *

The next day, Levi was terribly distracted. It was past noon when he began to brief his squad on their next mission in titan territory. They wouldn't be venturing very far; the weather was too unfavorable for a long expedition. Still, it was the duty of the scouts to clear as many titans near the walls as possible. Longer, more intensive missions would have to wait until the climate warmed up again.

The captain wasn't at his best today, to be sure. Hange had come into the briefing room to watch and listen, and she'd made good use of the products he'd gifted her with. That damned eyepatch was still present, but her hair was clean, brushed and shiny. He could even smell the tea-based shampoo he'd given her from across the room. She must have made use of the mirror he'd given her as well, because the ponytail she'd styled her hair into wasn't the usual messy, bushy catastrophe he was used to seeing. Her fingernails were clean as well, free of the dirt usually caked under them. He could already tell she'd used the moisturizer, because the skin on her face appeared softer and more vibrant than usual.

In short, she looked pretty and she smelled nice.

"Captain, did you hear me?" Mikasa asked, pulling Levi's attention off of their commander.

He looked at the girl, and damned if he had any idea of what she'd said. For a moment, Levi stood there torn. He could assume she'd asked a question and tell her to ask again later after he finished, or he could admit he hadn't heard her and tell her to repeat the question. The second option was unacceptable to him. He was their captain, and to reveal even a moment's break in concentration was to invite doubts of his competence, even if this was an isolated moment.

"You can ask your questions once the briefing is complete," Levi said calmly, fighting the heat he felt rising in his cheeks. Hange had cocked her head curiously. He suspected that she'd noticed his lapse, but evidently she didn't realize it was because of her or she would have been smirking about it, otherwise.

Levi continued the briefing, outlining where their squad would be positioned and what their primary duties would be. "Our job is to keep the command rank safe above all else," he explained. "Leave the slaying to the assist squads unless otherwise directed. We only engage if the outer ranks are in dire straights and we can do so without putting the center ranks at risk. Now you can ask your questions."

It seemed that Mikasa's inquiry must have been about what Levi just covered, because she didn't request permission to speak again. Jean asked where exactly each of them would be positioned in the formation, which Levi thought was a valid question. He marked on the chalkboard to demonstrate where each individual solder would be situated. After that, there were no further questions. Levi dismissed everyone, and once they filed out Hange closed the door and approached him.

"That went well," she complimented. "Those kids hardly ever question you, I've noticed."

"There might have been more questions than usual today, thanks to you."

Hange frowned a bit. "What do you mean? Do you think my presence her cast any doubts on your leadership?"

"No," he said softly. "But it distracted the hell out of me and I think the brats noticed."

"Oh?" Hange smiled at him. "Did thoughts of last night interrupt your concentration? It's nothing to be embarrassed about. I've been thinking of it all day long myself."

"That, amongst other things." Levi breathed in her scent, and he didn't dare step closer to the commander. "You used some of the products I gave you."

Her eye widened a little. " _That's_ what had you distracted? Hah, you can't pick on me for my fixation on titans. You get just as excited about hygiene as I do about science!"

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled. "I'm not used to seeing you so...shiny though."

"Shiny?" Her grin got bigger. "That's kind of adorable, Levi. I've had lots of inquisitive looks today, so you aren't the only one that noticed it. How do you think I did, though? Am I clean enough, do you think?"

The captain looked away, and he backed up against the window and folded his arms over his chest. "Yeah, you're clean enough."

"Levi, you're blushing."

"No I'm not. Stop talking shit."

"But you _are_." Hange stepped closer, and he had no room left to back up. She cupped his face in her hands, and he met her gaze. "Don't tell me you're feeling shy now. I thought we got past that last night."

"It isn't that," he insisted. "I've just got to get used to it, all right? Don't forget our agreement, for that matter. You can't go around tempting me like this when we're trying to keep things under wraps."

"I'm tempting you?" She traced his lips with a fingertip. When they parted, she pressed the tip of it between them. "That's good to know."

Some little devil got a hold of him, and Levi sucked on the digit invading his mouth. He stared at her with lidded eyes, feeling like he should get a bit of revenge. Hange's breath caught, and Levi grabbed her hips to pull her tightly against him.

"You little hypocrite," accused Hange breathlessly. "First you lecture me about watching how I act around people, and then you give my finger a blow job. Make up your mind."

"Nobody's around right now," he mumbled around her finger. He stroked the pad of it with his tongue. Why in the hell he was trying to initiate something when someone could walk in at any moment, he couldn't say.

"Good point," agreed Hange, her voice dropping an octave. She ran her fingers through his hair, and her mahogany gaze intensified. "Come to my quarters after dinner tonight."

Levi released her finger from his mouth, and he grabbed her hand to kiss the other fingers. "How about right now? Or do you have other things to attend to?"

"I...w-well, nothing that requires immediate attention," she faltered. "I could put it off for...mmph!"

Levi had cupped the back of her head while she was talking, and he pulled her into a deep, urgent kiss. He was already getting aroused. It was distantly annoying to him. The only time he could recall ever being so easily turned on by a female was back in his teenaged years when self-control was much harder to come by. He'd fancied himself in love with a dancer at a local pub. She was older than him, in her late twenties. Age mattered little though, especially in the underground. That dancer had been Levi's first, and he'd been infatuated with her afterwards for the longest time. She broke his heart when she became the mistress of a wealthy merchant, and after that, he thought he would never feel such passion again in his life.

Now he was forced to revise that belief. Levi couldn't figure out how it happened. Not long ago, he wouldn't have pictured himself with Hange. Her eccentric personality annoyed him, her lack of personal hygiene disgusted him, and her obsession with titans gave him the creeps. However, she was loyal, she was strong, she was brilliant in battle and she didn't know the meaning of the word "quit". Those qualities were what made him rethink his opinion of her, and somewhere along the way, his aversion to her changed into an undeniable attraction.

Hange wedged a thigh between his legs, rubbing up against his groin. Levi groaned softly into her mouth, and the temptation to bend her over one of the desks and go to town on her was so strong that he damned near forgot himself and went for it.

"Hold it," he gasped, breaking the kiss. "We've got to move this into your quarters or mine, else I'm going to fuck you right here and now, and someone's bound to bust in on us and get a rude surprise."

"You're right," she agreed breathlessly. She took his hand and started tugging him toward the door. "Come on, my sexy little grump. I'm about to ride you until you buckle."

Levi followed her, but he took his hand out of hers once they got through the door. "You go up first," he advised softly, keeping an eye out for any fellow scouts. "I'll come and join you in a minute."

"Good idea." Hange winked at him—or at least, what passed for winking when she only had one eye visible. "Don't keep me waiting, Levi."

* * *

Hange wasn't kidding in the slightest when she promised to ride him until he buckled. Her vigor matched his from the night before. All of her previous hesitation was gone now. She had no reason to hold back, and judging by the cries she provoked from her captain, Levi was more than agreeable with her aggression. Sweaty, flushed and flat on his back, humanity's strongest was showing his weakness to her without shame. This time he came first, but he retained enough wit to finish Hange off with his fingers. Moments later, Hange tossed her head and moaned his name.

She sprawled on top of him, lying against his chest. Levi stroked her back as they caught their breath. Hange kissed his chest, tasting his sweat on her tongue.

"That was fantastic," announced Hange when she could speak again. "Even better than the first time."

"I came too fast," he sighed.

She slapped his stomach lightly. "So you came first. You still gave me plenty of satisfaction, believe me."

He grunted and shrugged. "Still should have been able to wait for you before I got off. I'll do better next time."

Hange rolled her eyes, but she said nothing. Personally, she thought if Levi did any better than he'd demonstrated so far, she might not retain her sanity. She kissed his chest again, and she traced his navel with her fingertips. She caught sight of the little clock on her bedside table, and she squinted at it.

"Oh shit, is that the time?" She didn't think they'd been going at it for that long, but apparently nearly an hour had passed since they got started. She still had paperwork to finish and send to the brass, and she was going to need to get it done in time before the mail couriers stopped delivering for the day.

"Did I take up too much of your time?"

Hange sighed, and she rested her chin on his chest. "It was time well spent, but I do need to finish what I started on earlier. I hate to have sex and run, but the documents aren't going to fill themselves out."

"Then you'd better get going," suggested Levi. "Come to think of it, I've got to go to the market and get more tea."

"You and your tea." There was no sincerity behind Hange's criticism, though. She was actually grateful that he was such a tea enthusiast, because otherwise he wouldn't smell and taste so nice. She kissed him on the mouth, sighed regretfully and got up to wipe herself off a bit and change back into her clothes. Levi relaxed in the bed and watched as she used her new hand mirror and comb to tidy up her mussed ponytail. Hange caught sight of him through the reflection, and she turned.

"Am I not doing it right or something? I start at the ends like you showed me."

"No, it's fine," he answered. "Just watching."

Hange might have found that strange if it were anyone except for Levi. She finished up and she slipped into her clothes. The commander's bolo tie hadn't even come off during their encounter, so all she had to do with that was adjust it beneath her shirt collar. "Okay Levi, I'm off. Thanks for the afternoon delight!"

She heard him sigh softly as she made her exit, and that made her smile. Honestly, she could have just spent the rest of the day napping in his arms, but duty had to come before pleasure. It wasn't until she closed her door behind her that Hange realized she'd neglected to put her eyepatch back on. She started to go back in, but then she realized she wasn't alone in the corridor. Hitch was there, standing by the wall opposite Hange's quarters. She wasn't alone; she was whispering to another young woman who had recently transferred into the scouts from the Garrison Brigade.

They were both giggling, and they quieted at the sight of Hange. The commander's ears burned as Hitch gave her a sly, knowing look and a catty grin. It wasn't hard to guess the two girls had been talking about her. They must have heard her activities while passing by, and they had no doubt been gossiping about what they'd overheard before she came out of her chambers. She could only pray they hadn't recognized Levi's voice.

Hange didn't mind so much if people speculated about her love life; she was a grown woman with needs of her own, after all. Levi wouldn't be pleased if they connected the dots and figured out that he was Hange's new lover, though. Hange was fairly sure that nobody would associate the throaty male groans he'd been issuing with the captain. Everyone was so used to Levi being expressionless that they probably wouldn't imagine him being so vocal in bed. Still, it was better to get rid of these two before Levi came out and removed all doubt about who she'd been entertaining.

"Girls, don't you have somewhere to be?" Hange pressed firmly.

"Uh, yes commander," answered the brunet girl Hitch was with. She hastily saluted and made her retreat.

Hitch lingered for a moment longer, her gaze flicking between her commander and the door Hange had come out of. "You forgot your eyepatch, ma'am," she boldly pointed out.

"It was chafing me," excused Hange with calm she didn't feel. "Is there anything else you want to say, Dreyse?"

The girl was wise enough not to push her luck. "No, Commander Hange. Excuse me."

Hange watched her beat feet, and she sighed. A second later, she shrugged. Let people gossip. They had no proof of who she'd shared her bed with. She and Levi would just have to be more careful until the day came when they could be more open about the change in their relationship. She could excuse her improved hygienic habits on the decision to set a better example for her underlings, and there was no rule forbidding commanding officers from taking lovers.

The door cracked open, and Levi poked his head out. "Who was out here?"

"Just a couple of the newer scouts in our ranks." Hange tried to downplay it to avoid getting him worked up. "They were passing by as I stepped out, that's all."

"How long were they out here?" demanded the captain.

"Oh, not long," fibbed Hange. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "You may want to get dressed and relocate while the coast is clear, though."

He pulled the door open further to reveal that he was already back in uniform and immaculate. "I'm a step ahead of you. I'm going to check and see if there's been any word back from the retrieval team we sent to that tower."

She nodded. "Good idea. They should have sent a courier by now to report on their progress. Let me know what you find out, okay?"

"Yeah." He paused, noticing the absence of her patch. "So did you decide to take my advice about the eyepatch or what?"

"Oh, I forgot to put it on," she sighed. "The girls saw me without it, so I made an excuse that it was chafing me. I'll just have to go without for the rest of the day."

He seemed to approve of her choice. "It's not like you need it, but that's up to you." Levi dropped his voice to a softer tone. "Are we meeting back up tonight after dark?"

Hange's first impulse was to say yes, of course they were. She reconsidered when she thought of the whispers she'd walked out on. "Maybe not tonight. If we're going to keep this to ourselves, we should avoid spending too much time together or being seen going into each other's quarters."

A little spark of irritation lit his eyes, but Levi conceded the point. "All right. That's the best way to handle it for now."

Frustrated herself, Hange came up with a compromise. "How about we check in at an inn on the other side of the district after our retrieval team returns with the goods? That way we can have our privacy, and we can always come up with a believable excuse like official business. Nobody is going to question that."

Levi relaxed. "Well played. I'll look around for a suitable place while I'm out getting my supplies."

* * *

And so it went on as the days passed. Both of them had to put their strategic goals before personal gains, leaving little free time to enjoy one another. They kept their public relations in the status quo, interacting with each other the same way they always had before. While there were indeed rumors spreading around that Hange had a secret lover, nobody knew who it was...at least, not for sure. Hange thought that Armin began to suspect the truth of it after the scholarly blond witnessed Levi impulsively straightening her bolo tie before going into a meeting one day, but Arlert was too prudent to share his suspicions with anyone.

The pair carefully scheduled their encounters around their duties, always rotating where they took up room and board when they took their breaks from responsibilities to enjoy one another. It was a pre-emptive notion that Levi came up with, reasoning that variation lowered the chances of someone tracking their habits and figuring it out. He would check in one night, and Hange would check in the next. They even went as far as the Utopia district sometimes, keeping a safe distance between their hookup points and headquarters.

Hange kept wearing her eyepatch in public, but each night she met up with Levi it came off without a second thought on her part. Each night they were alone together, Levi would brush her hair for her, and she would massage the tension from his neck and shoulders. They were nearing their goal. Come Summer time, they had cleared Shiganshina of all remaining titans and plugged up the breach with Eren Jaeger's hardening ability. By Autumn, they eliminated most of the titans outside the walls as well, and they had the strength and numbers to make it all the way to the ocean.

"Hange, don't touch it," Levi cautioned when she waded into the salty water to collect the strange leftovers of sea life that had washed to shore. "It could be poisonous."

She looked at him blankly, her mouth slack. The ocean was more vast and strange than any of them had anticipated, and most of the younger soldiers were playing in the water a short distance away or taking hesitant steps into it. Levi, however, had his attention focused on the commander. Hange smiled a little at him, both amused and touched by his protectiveness.

"It's just salt water," she reminded him, "not acid. You should try it out, Levi. It's very refreshing."

"I wasn't talking about the water," he grumbled. "I'm talking about those weird things you're gathering. What is that, anyway?" He pointed at the spiral, stripe-pattern husk she was holding in her hands.

Hange glanced down at her find, unsure herself. "Well, if the books we found are a reliable source, it's a sea shell. Some creature used to live inside of it. I want to gather as many specimens as I can so I can—"

"Cripes, I should have known," he snapped. "What purpose does it serve? How is researching ocean life gonna help us achieve our goals? More importantly, we don't know jack shit about what kind of dangers there are in the ocean. Something could bite you."

"Captain, you should try this," Sasha hollered gleefully. "The sand feels great between the toes!"

Hange chuckled and nodded at the young woman. "You see? Sasha's not worried, and she has sharp instincts. I'm sure it's fine, Levi. I did do some reading on it and most of the dangerous marine life is in deeper water. Ooh, what's this?"

She spotted something dark green floating in the shallows—some kind of plant life. She waded over to it and bent over to pluck it up. It felt slimy. "I think I found some sea weed."

"Key word is 'weed'," grumbled the captain. "What the hell do you plan on doing with that?"

"All of the literature I've read consistently names it as an edible food source. I should collect more of it and bring it back with us. It may have medicinal properties, too."

Levi grimaced. "Looks disgusting."

"A lot of food sources look disgusting until it's prepared," Hange pointed out. "So what if it isn't winning any beauty contests? If we're going to establish a base around here to build our harbor and ships, we should learn what we can and can't harvest for food in the ocean. Wouldn't you agree?"

He didn't have a rebuttal for that one. Levi looked away, and he frowned when he saw Eren Jaeger standing motionless where the water met the shore. The young man was staring out at the horizon with intense, green-gold eyes. Levi glanced at Hange and then jerked his chin meaningfully in Eren's direction. Catching on, she waded closer to the shore toward Eren. Levi came up behind him.

Eren didn't give an indication that he'd detected their approach, but he spoke aloud. He seemed to be talking more to himself than any of his allies around him.

"Somewhere across that water is the enemy," said the shifter. The wind blew his chestnut hair across his eyes. It had grown longer over the past year, reaching his shoulders in a shaggy mess that Levi couldn't stand. "If we can defeat them, will we finally be free?"

Hange and Levi looked at each other, then back out at the blue, froth-capped water. Hange was the first to speak up. "Freedom is a state of mind, Eren. One could argue that true freedom doesn't exist in the way you mean it. There's always obligations and responsibility in life that gets in the way of doing whatever we want to do, whether it's to family, work, friends or duty. Total freedom would mean the absence of responsibility, and imagine what our world would be like if everyone simply frolicked around without any rules or ethics? It would be the downfall of society, and we would never have gotten where we are today if we hadn't taken up arms to defend ourselves."

Levi raised a brow at her, impressed. "Listen to her, kid. She's right. If you want total freedom, you're deluding yourself. What you need to ask yourself instead is what it's going to take for us to have the freedom to make our own choices and live our own lives. That's the goal here. Everything else after that is all a matter of what we choose to do with that autonomy."

Eren looked at them both, lowered his eyes and nodded. "I understand. I hope the two of you have enough freedom one day to do that, too."

Eren walked over to Armin and Mikasa after that, leaving his superiors to stare after him. Hange met Levi's eyes.

 _"Think he knows?"_ she mouthed.

To Levi, the answer was pretty obvious. All this time they'd been worried that Armin would be the one to figure it out and say something to his friends that would give them away. It hadn't occurred to either of them that Eren saw through their facade. They'd underestimated the titan brat. Eren had grown up quite a bit since the battle that cost them Erwin Smith as their commander, and not just physically. There was a sort of tragic wisdom in his eyes, and while Levi had started noticing it long before now, he'd thought it to be internalized due to everything Eren had been through.

Hange closed in on him, and she whispered into his ear. "Hey, if he's figured it out, there's nothing we can do. I think Eren's got bigger things on his mind than our relationship, and by the time we get our fleet ready, nobody is going to care even if we shout out the truth. This may be our final struggle, for better or for worse."

Levi nodded. He couldn't disagree with that. Maybe there was no longer a point in all of this sneaking around.

* * *

Later that evening they had their ocean side camp set up and patrol duties assigned, just in case there were any titan stragglers still wandering the territory. Thanks to Sasha's survival skills, they were able to have a hot meal of fish soup. Some of them were wary of eating fish from the ocean, but Hange confirmed that the catches they made were safe to consume, with the exception of the jellyfish that got caught up in the net. She couldn't be sure about that one, so it was thrown back into the sea.

After their meal when it started to get dark, Levi came out of his tent, walked over to Hange's and went into it with only a brief pause to give a few watching scouts a challenging look. None of them said anything. Satisfied, he opened the flap and stepped in to find Hange sitting at the small desk she'd brought along in one of the supply wagons. She was busily writing something down, and she blinked up at him when he came in and secured the flap closed behind him.

"Levi, do you need something?"

Rather than answer her with words, he removed his cloak and hung it up on the stand near the tent entrance. He took his gloves off, pocketed them and then shrugged out of his jacket.

"Um, what are you doing?" Hange started to blush at the look in his eyes.

Levi paused, staring at her silently. He then hung his jacket up, and he began to loosen his cravat. "I'm choosing to give myself the freedom to sleep with who I want to sleep with. Is that a problem for you?"

Hange shook her head, and her uncovered eye widened. "N-no, but...you were so determined to keep it a secret. You just...walked straight in here in front of everyone?"

"That's right." Levi's cravat joined the other garments on the hanging stand. "That little speech you gave to Eren earlier got me to thinking. It's a short life, often brutal. We've both agreed on that before, but I've gained a new perspective. Total freedom is an illusion, right? Doesn't mean we don't have any freedom at all, and what we _do_ have could be taken from us by the end of this conflict. I'm not wasting another moment shackling myself when I don't really have to. How about you?"

Her expression was a blend of amazement and hope. "So what you're saying is that from now on, you want us to be out in the open about our relationship? No concerns for how that might effect our professional dealings?"

"If it hasn't fucked up our work relationship yet, then I doubt it ever will." He started to unbutton his shirt. "We've been doing this for months, four eyes. It hasn't interfered with our duties. I think we've both passed the test of keeping our love life and work life separate, and frankly, I'm tired of all this sneaking around bullshit."

She relaxed, and her gaze softened on him. "I am too, Levi. God, am I ever tired of it. In fact, I've wanted so many times to suggest this very thing, but I didn't think you would go for it."

"Now we know we're on the same page." His shirt came off, and he approached the desk bare-chested. The chill in the air made goose bumps form on his skin, but he hardly cared. He bent over the desk on the opposite side of Hange, placing his hands flat against the surface. "Don't misunderstand; I'm not saying we should hold hands and make out in front of our comrades when we're on duty. We've still got an example to set and acting like a pair of horny teenagers isn't appropriate. That being said, our free time is ours and there's no good reason to hide it when we share a bed. Agreed?"

Hange put aside her stylus, and she got out of her chair. "Very much agreed."

She then circled around the desk to embrace him, and her kiss conveyed her feelings more than words ever could. The couple made their way over to Hange's bedroll near the back of the tent, shedding their clothing as they went. They could both make out whispered speculation coming from outside the tent, but what people thought was no longer of great concern to them.

They'd found their own freedom, and it was all thanks to a patch of thin ice giving way beneath them.

* * *

-The End


End file.
